A Cluster of Stars
by RobDaZombie
Summary: Especially recommended for: People who want to relax and unwind, people who wish to escape a little from the real world, and people who have accidentally killed a rare shiny pokémon.
1. Space Invaders

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Lucky Star or any of its characters. This disclaimer applies for every future chapter as well.

**Author: **Hi there! This is essentially a collection of short stories that (hopefully) mimic the charm of the original anime. Hope you enjoy reading them!

**A Cluster of Stars – By RobDaZombie**

**Space Invaders**

Once upon a time, an adorable six year old Konata was walking merrily outside the heart of the city. She was holding hands with her father because father learned the hard way that, if he released his gentle hold, little Konata will run around all over the place and make a general nuisance of herself.

The little blunette pointed at the arcade store. "Come on papa! Let's go inside there!" she said with a big bright smile.

Of course, any self-respecting parent would _never _allow their six year old child inside an arcade store; neon flashing colours, a multitude of sound effects, and six year old children do not mix together well.

"Sure thing! Let's go!" her father replied.

He, however, did not fall under the category of 'self-respecting'.

Inside, Konata rushed to the closest arcade machine she could find, which so happened to be the one containing the Space Invaders game. Her father had to lift her up, for she was too small to reach the controls.

It was Konata's first taste in the virtual world.

Konata wiggled the joystick and frantically mashed the big red button. Lots of bleeps, bloops and other retro sounds filled her mind. The space turret managed to blast away six aliens, but the rest of the little critters were starting to descend rapidly. After a few more seconds into the game, the aliens successfully landed on the bottom of the screen, and the words 'GAME OVER' flashed on the screen.

When her father put her down, Konata wailed and immediately hugged his legs. "WAAAGGHH!! THE ALIENS HAVE LANDED ON EARTH PAPA! THE ALIENS HAVE LANDED ON EARTH!!"

"Shh... it's okay sweetie, it's only a video game," father whispered into her ears.

…

...

*** * * * ***

…

…

Twelve years later, Konata hastily browsed all of the isles in the Gamers store, when her eyes feasted upon a necessity poking out of the top of the bargain bin. It was a Space Invaders clone! And it was for the Nintendo DS! And it was at an affordable price!

With a glint in her eye, Konata swiped the game and bought it at the checkout.

*** * * * ***

Back in her bedroom, Konata inserted the game in her beloved DS. Now she is ready to take on those scummy aliens. Now is the time for retribution. She leapt backwards on her bed and pressed the start button.

"_Hmm," _thought Konata, as she played the game with a serious expression, _"If I take them out one line at a time, it will take them longer to descend the screen! I'm a genius!"_

But then she gasped in horror... for the aliens had suddenly split into two smaller groups, and each group moved at a different speed level!

"Ah! I've been tricked!" said Konata angrily, pressing the fire button like there was no tomorrow.

Despite all her efforts, a single alien remained, and it just so happened to successfully reach the bottom. The words 'GAME OVER' appeared on the title screen. Konata turned off the DS and ran downstairs to the kitchen, where her father was preparing the dinner. She immediately ran and hugged her father's legs.

"Waaagh! The aliens have landed on earth, otousan! The aliens have landed on earth!" she shouted.

A large sweat drop hung at the back of her father's head.

"I thought you got over that by now," he said in disbelief.


	2. Help me Kagamin!

**Help me Kagamin!**

Konata was lying on her bed, barely reading the math problems shown on her textbook. The pages were filled with hard equations, and whoever had the smart idea of combining letters and numbers together should be thrown into a pit of rabid dogs. She had no chance of completing them, so she rolled onto the side of her bed and grabbed her mobile phone on the shelf.

*** * * * ***

Meanwhile, Kagami was studying away in her bedroom. Unlike her blue haired friend, Kagami had her very own work desk and was just finishing off the last few pages from her text book. Suddenly, her mobile phone rang, so she picked it up to see who was on the other end.

"Help me Kagamin!" came the whiny, purposely pathetic sounding voice of Konata.

Kagami sighed. "What question are you stuck on?"

"One."

"One?! You mean you haven't even started yet?!"

"Please help me Kagamin!"

Resting the phone on her left ear and shoulder, Kagami flipped back a few pages. "Alright listen, you carry the 'x' over to the 'y' and multiply the two remaining figures together, giving you the answer of twenty eight."

There was a slight pause.

"So the answer is twenty eight?" asked Konata

"Yeah."

"Okay, thanks Kagamin!"

Konata finished the phone call and allowed Kagami to return to her studies. Twenty seconds later and the phone rang again. Kagami picked up the phone.

"Help me Kagamin!" came the sorrowful, purposely pitiful sounding voice of Konata.

Kagami sighed. "What question are you stuck on now?"

"Two."

A vein appeared on Kagami's forehead.

"Please help me Kagamin!"

Kagami looked back at question two. "Alright… listen, you subtract the values of 'y' and 'z', and then you multiply the difference by four, giving you the answer of twelve."

There was a slight pause.

"So the answer is twelve?" asked Konata.

Kagami could feel a pattern emerging…

"Hang on," the girl said with force, "do you want me to help you, or do you just want the answers?!"

"Ah… haha… I wonder…" replied a rather sheepish Konata.

Angrily, Kagami pressed the button so the call would end. She resumed her studying.

"_That idiot."_ she thought to herself.

Kagami's mobile phone hadn't rung for a while now. Kagami stopped studying and looked at her phone. Her anger dissolved and formed into a more sympathetic expression. With a third sigh, Kagami picked up the phone and dialled Konata's number. Two rings later and Konata picked it up.

"Hey Kagamin!" Konata answered.

"Hey…" said Kagami, "…um… do you need a hand with anything?"

There was a slight pause before Konata covered her smiling mouth and replied with, "Hmm? Are you feeling lonely?"

"Shut up!" Kagami snapped.


	3. Chase the Maid

**Chase the Maid**

It was a peaceful Saturday evening and Miyuki had invited Konata and the Hiiragi twins over to her house. The four girls were seated around a small, wooden circular table. Konata sat at the north side of the table, Tsukasa east, Kagami south and Miyuki west. All of them were happily engaged in a friendly game of Chase the Maid. All of the pairs were discarded at the centre of the table.

"I'm out!" Miyuki softly declared, as she tossed her final two cards in the middle.

"Ooh! Nice job, Miyuki-san!" complemented Konata.

Kagami and Tsukasa were too focused in the game to say something, though in case of the younger twin, it was more like trying to _stay _focused.

"Finished!" announced Konata, throwing two kings on the table.

The game continued until the twins were down to the last three cards. Tsukasa held the ten of hearts and the dreaded queen of spades, and Kagami held the solo ten of diamonds. Tsukasa held her hand up high so her older sister could pick one of them. Konata and Miyuki watched on to see the conclusion of this game.

Kagami's hand was about to take Tsukasa's queen, but Tsukasa made this happy 'meep' kind of sound. Reading her sister like a book, Kagami changed her mind and chose the other card in Tsukasa's hand.

"Sorry Tsukasa, but you're last!" the older twin told her.

Tsukasa accepted her defeat with a quiet sigh, but couldn't help wonder why Kagami took the other card in the last moment.

When they played another round of Chase the Maid, oddly enough, the game played in a very similar way to the first, with Miyuki winning and Konata coming second place. The deciding factor was determined with Tsukasa holding the queen and the two of clubs, and Kagami just holding the two of hearts.

Kagami reached for the queen. Tsukasa widened her eyes, making a quiet 'ah' sound when she did so. Kagami changed her mind and went for the other card. Tsukasa lost again.

"Aaauu, I'm no good at this game," Tsukasa said.

Konata raised a finger in the air in order to explain the situation.

"That's because Tsukasa, whenever Kagamin reaches for the queen, you suddenly make sounds like 'ah!' and 'meep!', which make it really obvious to the opposition!" the blunette told her.

Tsukasa gasped. "Eh?! Do I really make sounds like that?!"

Kagami nodded twice. "Sorry, but it is kind of a give away," she said.

"Some card games require more concentration that others," Miyuki explained, "even simple motives such as blinking or coughing can give your position away."

"I didn't know I made those sounds..." said Tsukasa with her head hung low.

The voice of Miyuki's mother was suddenly heard from the kitchen.

"Dinner will be ready in five minutes!"

"Okay!" the four girls replied.

"All right! One last game!" Konata announced, "Kagamin verses Konata! One against one! For the sake of avenging Tsukasa's defeat!"

"Alright! You're on!" agreed Kagami.

Tsukasa didn't know how to react, whereas Miyuki simply smiled.

When all the pairs were discarded to the centre, the exchange of cards had begun. It was fast and furious, but in the end, Konata still had the queen in her hand. The other card she had was the nine of diamonds. Kagami only had the nine of hearts, and it was her turn to pick a card.

Kagami examined Konata's facial expression. Unlike her younger sister, Konata's was trickier to decipher. Konata smiled her usual catlike smile and did nothing more.

Kagami reached for the card on the card... but all of a sudden, Konata blinked! Kagami flinched and her hand moved backwards.

"_Was I about to touch the queen?" _thought Kagami, _"It's like Miyuki said; even simple motives can give your position away! Yes... yes I'm sure I was about to get the queen! There's no doubt about it!"_

Kagami looked at Konata again. Still, she was making that catlike smile.

"_But why is she still smiling! Perhaps her blinking was just a bluff to throw me into a false sense of security! Perhaps she wanted me to flinch and take the other card instead!"_

Kagami started to sweat. Konata... still had her catlike smile.

"_Why does Konata wanted to avenge my sister's defeat anyway? It's just a card game! I wasn't taking it that seriously, was I?"_

Kagami closed her eyes in the hope her head wouldn't explode.

"_Oh forget it! I'm just going to pick a card at random!"_

So she did. She took the card she was originally going to take in the first place. Konata chuckled villainously as the card turned out to be the queen. When it was her turn, Konata swiftly took the nine of hearts and won the game.

Kagami slumped her face on the table. "It felt like... I was against all three of you," she groaned.

Konata made a thumbs up pose to Tsukasa. "Tsukasa, you have been avenged!" she declared in victory.

Tsukasa laughed nervously. She didn't know whether to feel grateful or embarrassed.


	4. Rare Shiny!

_Author: _**[ABC] **_= messages that appears on the Nintendo DS screen!_

**Rare Shiny!**

"Pokémon! Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all, Pokémon!" Konata sung as she played a Pokémon game on her Nintendo DS.

Konata's head happily swayed left and right as her main character (which she named KonaKona) ventured into a field full of tall grass. It wasn't before long that the screen flashed a couple of times before she encountered a wild monster. However, when the combat screen appeared, Konata quickly realised she wasn't dealing with an ordinary wild monster…

Konata's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe this wondrous sight. She had to catch this wild monster.

"Omigosh!! It's a shiny Pikachu!!" she gasped, seeing a golden mouse appear on her screen, "The odds of finding one are almost two thousand to one!"

Konata took many deep breaths before composing herself. She needed to be calm or she might end up doing something reckless.

"Jigglypuff! I choose you!" she said, making her character throw a red ball to reveal a white, spherical looking monster.

The battle was already well on its way…

**[WILD PIKACHU USED QUICK ATTACK!]**

…

"Ah! Hang in there Jigglypuff!"

**[JIGGLYPUFF USED POUND!]**

…

"Oooh! If I use two more pound attacks, then it will be weak enough to capture!"

**[WILD PIKACHU USED THUNDERSHOCK!]**

…

"Phew! My Jigglypuff wasn't paralysed!"

**[JIGGLYPUFF USED POUND!]**

…

"Just one more attack to go!"

…

**[WILD PIKACHU USED QUICK ATTACK!]**

…

"Hang in there Jigglypuff!"

…

**[JIGGLYPUFF USED POUND!]**

…

**[CRITICAL HIT!]**

…

**[WILD PIKACHU FAINTED!]**

…

**[JIGGLYPUFF HAS GAINED 842 XP POINTS!]**

…

Konata turned white and her jaw dropped like a cash register.

A few seconds later, Konata's father opened the door.

"Konata!" he called out, "Your friend Kagami is on the phone!"

Konata still remained white and frozen. Her father looked at her transformed state with a puzzled expression.

"Uh… I'll tell her to call you later." he decided to say.


	5. Cheesecake

**Cheesecake**

"_Aaah! So warm!"_

Miyuki closed her eyes and blissfully allowed the hot water to soak into her skin and hair. Her glasses were resting safely on the small shelf above the sink. Although she enjoyed the company of her friends and family, there was nothing quite like having a scented bubble bath all to yourself. Miyuki felt so relaxed. She could stay like this forever.

When she had finished in the bathroom, Miyuki took her time drying off before replacing her pink fluffy towel with her casual clothes. She walked into the living room feeling fresh and revitalised. On the round table was a plate containing a single slice of cheesecake. On top of the cheesecake was a slice of mouth watering strawberry. Miyuki's mother, Yukari, was sitting on the right side of the table. Already she was midway through eating her dessert.

Miyuki's eyes turned into sparkling stars. "My, my! What a nice surprise, okaasan!" she said in delight.

Her mother made an eyesmile. She knew her daughter would be pleased to receive such a treat. "I had it ready when you were busy in the bath!" she replied.

Miyuki delicately tucked into her first mouthful. "Mm! Cheesecake is really tasty after a nice relaxing bath!" she remarked.

Yukari happily nodded in agreement. "Mm-hm!"

Miyuki was now halfway eating her dessert when she realised something. "You know... I just had a thought..."

Yukari looked up from her plate.

"...I noticed we always have cheesecake every Friday, and for every week of the month, we always have a different slice of fruit on top! On the first week we have a slice of banana, on the second week we have a slice of kiwi, on the third week we have a slice of raspberry and on the forth week we have a slice of strawberry!"

"Well, I guess I'm just a creature of habit!" Yukari replied, "Well... when it comes to making cheesecake anyway!"

They paused eating for a moment before they started to giggle.

Miyuki was now fairly close to finishing her dessert, so she tried to make it last by cutting smaller pieces with her fork. As she began to savour her next mouthful, her face... twitched. Yukari looked up from her plate again, this time with concern. Miyuki realised her mother was looking at her, so she swallowed her mouthful in one go. She picked up another piece before popping it into her mouth. She was chewing very slowly.

Yukari promptly left the table so she could make a phone call in the hallway. The conversation was very brief, and she returned to the living room once she finished.

"You have an appointment with Sachiwara-san tomorrow at one o'clock!" Yukari said happily.

Miyuki lowered her head and sighed woefully. Her perfect evening had ended somewhat abruptly.


	6. A Number Two

**A Number Two**

During the afternoon, Konata invited the twins over to her house. Miyuki was also invited, but the poor girl had a dentist appointment to attend to, so she politely declined the offer. For lunch, Konata, the twins, Sojiro and little Yutaka were all seated around a rectangular table. They were all enjoying a plate of pasta with turkey mince.

However, an untimely gurgling sound was heard in the depths of Konata's stomach. The blunette hastily clutched her hands around her belly.

"Hmm? Is something wrong sweetie?" Sojiro asked her daughter.

"Gurgle." came the reply of Konata's unruly stomach.

Konata had to leave the table.

"Aah… sorry guys! I have to go upstairs and do a number two!" she told everyone.

"_Too much information." _thought Sojiro.

"_You didn't need to phrase it like that." _thought Kagami.

Tsukasa and Yutaka didn't know how to reply to Konata's open mindedness, so they decided to keep quiet.

*** * * * ***

Once everyone finished their meal, Kagami needed to wash her hands, so she went upstairs to open the bathroom door. However, it was locked because Konata was still in there.

"Occupied!" came the voice of Konata.

"Ah! Sorry Konata, I forgot you were in there." Kagami apologised.

"No problem!"

Kagami was about to go downstairs to use the kitchen sink when…

"Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"Yeah?" replied Kagami.

There was a slight pause.

"Can you help me?"

Kagami was taken slightly aback from those words. "Help you?"

"I need you to do something for me!"

Kagami raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Fetch me my DS!"

"Eh?!"

"Fetch me my DS!"

Kagami growled, but in the end sighed in defeat. "Alright, where is it?"

"My room next to the PS3!"

Kagami briefly visited Konata's room. Sure enough there was a black DS next to the Playstation 3. Also, in the corner of her room was a PC which she solely uses for online role playing games. She quickly retrieved the DS and walked back to the bathroom door.

"Okay I've got it!" Kagami said, though she didn't like the idea of being an errand girl, especially since she was supposed to be a guest.

"Great!" replied Konata. Kagami heard the door being unlocked from the inside. "Now open the door an inch so I can take it!"

Kagami opened the door an inch and reached her hand out. She found the DS being taken from her grip. Quickly, she closed the door in fear of being polluted.

"Okay! Now fetch me my other DS!" Konata ordered.

"Why?!" Kagami asked rashly, "Wait a minute! Why do you have two?!"

"It was on eBay at a really cheap price!" answered Konata.

"That doesn't answer the question at all! What's more, couldn't you just tell me to grab both DS's at the same time?!"

"Yeah… but where's the fun in that?"

Another slight pause.

"Alright. Where is the other DS?" asked Kagami impatiently.

"My room next to the PC!"

Again, Kagami visited Konata's room. Sure enough there was a white DS next to the PC. She grabbed the second DS and walked back to the bathroom door.

"So why do you want two DS's anyway?" asked Kagami.

"Ha ha! You're so silly Kagamin!" laughed Konata, "That DS is for you!"

Kagami tried to put two and two together. She widened her eyes when she realised what Konata was planning.

"NO! NO WAY! NOT A CHANCE!" shouted Kagami. "I REFUSE TO PLAY WITH YOU WHILST YOU'RE STUCK IN THE TOILET!!"

Infuriated that she wasted so much time, Kagami left the DS by the bathroom door before marching her way downstairs.

"No Kagamin! Come back!" Konata whined_._


	7. Sharing

**Sharing**

_Monday..._

Kagami and Tsukasa sat together on the living room couch. No lights in the house were switched on; only the television screen illuminated the darkness. The twins were both ready to watch a late night move... that is, until their stomachs started to rumble at the same time. Even though they were pretty full after dinner, it just wasn't the same watching television without having something to eat. Their stomachs craved for a late night snack.

"I'll have a look in the cupboard," said Kagami, softly so her sleeping family wouldn't hear.

Kagami lifted herself from the couch and made her way to the kitchen. After some examining, all she could find in the cupboard was a four fingered bar of KitKat. She returned to the living room couch with the mentioned chocolate in hand.

"All I could find was this," Kagami told her sister, as she showed her the chocolate.

"Oh," Tsukasa replied, "well... that's okay! Since you found it first, you get to have it, right?"

"Don't be silly!" said Kagami, noting Tsukasa's downcast expression, "If we break it in half, that means we have two fingers each!"

Kagami removed the paper packaging and broke the chocolate in two whilst still in its silver foil. She handed one half over to her sister.

"Thanks, oneechan!" Tsukasa said with an eyesmile, and the two of them prepared themselves for a late night movie.

*** * * * ***

_Wednesday..._

"...now try not to fall asleep halfway through the movie!" Kagami told her sister, as the twins prepared themselves for a second late night movie, "I had a hard time carrying you all the way to your bedroom!"

Tsukasa lowered her head and pressed her forefingers together. "Sorry..."

Before the movie began, their stomachs rumbled together again.

"I'll check the cupboard," said Kagami, before making her way to the kitchen.

After some examining, all she could find was a gingerbread man inside some transparent packaging. She returned to the living room couch with the treat in hand.

"All I could find was this," said Kagami, showing her the gingerbread man.

"Oh," Tsukasa replied, "well... that's okay! Since you found it first, you get to have it, right?"

Kagami smiled and simply broke the gingerbread man in two.

"Top half or bottom half?" Kagami asked.

Tsukasa placed a finger on her lips.

"Um... top half please!" she decided, her face turning into an eyesmile.

Kagami knew the top half had the most icing and chocolate on (and she had a suspicion her sister knew as well), but gave Tsukasa that half anyway. The two of them began to munch on their treat whilst waiting for the movie to begin.

*** * * * ***

_Friday..._

"Tsukasa, you look tired already, are you sure you'll be alright?" asked Kagami.

Tsukasa blinked twice before waving both of her hands. "Oh don't worry about me! I'll be fine!" she said.

As the movie was about to begin, their stomachs growled together for a third time.

"Let me check the cupboard this time!" said Tsukasa, knowing her sister already done this twice in the week.

"Sure, okay!" Kagami replied happily.

Tsukasa entered the kitchen, her eyes slightly closed due to her lack of recent sleep. With a tiny yawn, she examined the cupboard and found an unused tube of Smarties. She placed a finger on her lips... until a light bulb appeared briefly above her head. She acquired two small plates near the kitchen sink and placed them next to each other. She then opened up the tube and carefully poured the contents onto one of the plates. She counted each smartie one by one. There were thirty three in total; eight red ones, four orange, two yellow, four green, four brown, four mauve, four blue and three pink.

She divided each colour according so there would be an even number of colours on each plate. However, there was still that spare pink one left. How would she solve this problem? She could eat it and feign innocence... _no_! She couldn't do that! Her sister gave her the top half of the gingerbread man yesterday; the top half which contained most of the icing and chocolate! She had to think of _something _though...

Meanwhile, Kagami rose from the couch and wondered why her sister was taking so long. When she walked into the kitchen, Kagami noticed Tsukasa was holding a kitchen knife. Tsukasa had a look of deep concentration, which was evidently shown because her tongue was seen on the right side of her mouth.

"Um... Tsukasa?" Kagami asked slowly.

Tsukasa jumped and turned around; her sister had startled her!

Kagami looked at the scenario with a bemused stare.

"Don't tell me you were trying to cut that smartie in half?"

Tsukasa rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously.


	8. Piano

**Piano**

"Okay Minami! I'm just going out to buy a few things! I'll be back around one o'clock!" Minami's mother told her.

"Have a safe trip," Minami replied, in her usual quiet manner.

Minami watched as the main door closed in front of her. With the temporary absence of her mother, Minami had the whole house all to herself. Actually, that wasn't entirely true. Cherry, the lovable white dog, was lounging around the room, though despite his large appearance, Cherry scarcely made a nuisance of herself.

Minami looked at the living room clock. It was quarter to one, so Minami had fifteen minutes before her mother would be back. She decided to make the most of this with one of her favoured pastimes; playing the piano. She never enjoyed playing the piano in front of an audience, especially if the audience consisted of her family. She would always get embarrassed if someone listened to her melodies. This however was different. She could play the piano to her heart's content, without feeling the pressure of other people.

She sat on the stool and started playing with her right hand. When she became comfortable, Minami added in her left hand, creating an awe-inspiring harmony that would please anyone within earshot. Unfortunately, Minami had to stop playing when she heard the phone ring in the living room. Minami walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"Iwasaki residence," she said, in perhaps the most monotonic voice she could muster.

The male voice on the other end spent a good while introducing himself. This could only mean one thing; a sales call. During the conversation, Minami apologised and said she wasn't interested in whatever was on offer, but the sales rep wouldn't take no for an answer. Finally, Minami had the guts to say sorry for one last time before putting the phone down. She felt really guilty for doing that, since the poor man was only doing his job after all.

Minami returned to the piano and sat on the stool. She raised her hands high in the air… and froze when she heard a knock on the door. With a quiet sigh, Minami rose from her seat and walked over to the main door before opening it. It was the postman, and he carried a large package with both hands.

"Good afternoon," said the postman, "is this the Iwasaki residence?"

"Mm," Minami replied, nodding.

The postman gave Minami a clipboard with a pen and sheet of paper. Minami signed the paper, confirming the package has been sent to the correct house. Once signed, Minami gave the clipboard back to the postman.

"Um... also, I was wondering if you could help me?" the postman asked.

"Mm?" Minami said, titling her head a little.

"I'm looking for a place called 'Takara estate'."

Naturally, Minami knew the whereabouts of this house, for Miyuki lived in the same neighbourhood as she did. Minami decided it would be best to walk with the postman until they found the desired destination. Of course, Minami brought her key and closed the main door behind her. Being locked outside her own house would be nothing short of humiliating.

The postman rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Wow! I must be blind for missing this place! Thanks for your help!"

"That's okay," said Minami who then returned to her own house.

After unlocking and opening the main door, Minami returned to the living room.

She ceased movement.

Her hair overshadowed her eyes, and her jaw nearly hit the floor.

Scattered all over the room were large brown blobs of doggy-doo. The second Minami left the house, Cherry had a serious case of diarrhoea. The smell was unbearable! Cherry looked up to Minami as if to say, 'what?'

"Cherry! Outside! Outside!" Minami ordered, her voice more serious sounding this time.

Minami managed to scoot the big dog outside. To add insult to injury, Cherry dropped another couple of brown tokens before going to his kennel. Minami looked at the doggy-doo infested room. It was time for some serious cleaning.

Fortunately Minami had all the necessary equipment, the most essential one being the stain remover. She still had to get rid of each individual mess with a tissue though, and she could think of a dozen more enjoyable things to do with her life than picking up dog poop. As she was doing this… the phone rang again. Minami rushed to the phone and picked it up, stepping on a smelly brown blob along the way.

"Sorry! I can't take the call! I have to clean up doggy-doo!" she said in a panic, and put the phone down before the receiving end could respond to such a statement.

After some time, Minami finally cleaned up the mess (as well as her right shoe), and thoroughly washed her hands afterwards. She took a deep breath. Hopefully she wouldn't have to go through anything like that again. Just as she was about to return to the piano… the doorbell rang. She walked over and opened the main door.

"I'm home!" Minami's mother said, walking into the kitchen with three bags of shopping.

"Welcome back," said Minami.

When her mother walked into the kitchen, Minami sagged her shoulders and sighed. She never did get round to properly playing the piano.


	9. Blog

**Blog**

The dark sky looked opaque from the windows, evident that it was getting on towards midnight.

Nanako was on a role, an ultimate typing frenzy. It had been a while since she has updated her blog on her beloved computer, but tonight she was going to make up for lost time. She paused typing to take a sip from her glass of coke. It was fizzy and refreshing to say the least, and its caffeine quotient was enough to keep her awake. Outside, she heard a few drops of rain, which quickly increased into a heavy downpour. Ironically, the elements in the sky soothed her, possibly because she remembered the comfort and warmth of her cosy little bedroom.

Right, she thought, back to typing. Nanako had already typed out thirty paragraphs consisting of over five thousand words. After finishing her concluding paragraph, Nanako stretched her fingers before deciding to click on the 'send' button.

But then she stopped.

A dark wave of negative energy flowed throughout her veins. She remembered the _last _time she clicked on the send button. Due to a temporary 'interruption' she couldn't post off any of her hard work. To add insult to injury, she couldn't even retrieve her own message. All of those long hours of typing. Wasted.

Now she had a plan. It was simple, but effective. Instead of clicking send, Nanako first highlighted all of her work with the mouse. A right click brought up a small menu, and from it, Nanako selected the 'copy' option. Now if there was a problem, Nanako would simply load up her site again and paste her previous work back onto it. She grinned. She couldn't lose.

However, just as she was about to initiate this plan, Nanako heard a tremendous flash of lightning.

The lightning caused an abrupt power cut, making everything in the room pitch black.

*** * * * ***

_Tomorrow…_

"Okay class!" Nanako announced with a bitter eyesmile. She slammed a test booklet on every student desk whilst talking. "Today, we're going to have a surprise history test! Two hundred questions and a time limit of two hours! Have fun!"

"What?!" complained Konata, "This is too much for me! Especially on a Monday morning!"

Nanako instantly turned around to face the blue haired girl. Konata looked into her eyes. They glowed a frightening, malicious amber colour.

"**_IS THERE A PROBLEM, KONATA IZUMI???__"_** asked Nanako, her voice dripping with acid.

Konata shook her head. Nope! For the rest of the week, there wasn't going to be any problems! Problems were a thing of the past!

Reluctantly, Konata and the rest of the class prepared their stationery before getting stuck into their fun filled history test. The blonde teacher patrolled the classroom with her hands around her back. Wow, Konata thought, when did such a giant stick find its way inside Nanako's rear end?

"Pssst!" came a voice behind Konata.

Konata turned around and a girl behind passed her a folded piece of paper. The blunette turned to the front again and opened it. She couldn't help but snigger at the contents shown inside. It was just a shame that a certain somebody managed to hear her muffled laughter.

A Nanako shadow suddenly loomed behind the unaware blunette. Before Konata could react, a monstrous hand snatched the piece of paper. With a deathly silent expression, Nanako opened up the paper and wondered what the sniggering was all about. At this point, Konata wanted to die. The piece of paper showed a crude drawing of Nanako with devil horns and a dragon tail. Next to the drawing was a speech bubble that read: 'ROAR!! I AM EVIL NANAKO, AND I HAVE A PITCH FORK STUCK UP MY BUTT!!'

Konata got after school detention for the rest of the month.


	10. Polka dot Straw

**Polka-dot Straw**

"Lucky!" an excited Kagami said to herself.

After inserting a few coins in the vending machine, Kagami received two plastic bottles of vanilla milkshake instead of one. With a bottle in each hand, Kagami made her way to the table where Konata, Miyuki and her twin sister were sitting. As usual, the cafeteria was crammed full of boys and girls, some were eating school meals, others had pre-packed lunches of their own.

Konata, five minutes ago, was in a grumpy mood, likely due to her angry teacher giving her after school detention. After she finished her choco cornet however, her mood perked up a bit. Tsukasa took small bites out of her sandwich, and was quiet most of the time. Unfortunately for Miyuki, she appeared to be a tad on the distressed side. For the last minute, Miyuki had gone through every nook and cranny in her school bag, but she had no luck finding her drink carton.

"Hey, Miyuki-san," Konata asked, "you lost something?"

With a slight sadness, Miyuki nodded. "Mm, I must have left my drink at home," she replied.

It was at this time where Kagami arrived to the table, with her usual trademark 'Yo!' greeting. Konata immediately clasped her eyes on the two bottles of milkshake Kagami was holding.

"Hmm?" Konata grinned, her smile turning catlike, "Just because they are low-fat doesn't mean you should buy two of them, Kagamin!"

Kagami countered by poking her tongue out at the blunette. "It just so happened that I got two for the price of one," she explained.

"Ah, I see, a vending machine glitch," Konata reasoned with herself, stroking her chin in the process.

Kagami sagged her shoulders. "Must you always relate things with computers?"

"A glitch doesn't always relate to computers," Konata stated, "it simply translates into 'a small problem', so it can be universal."

Kagami sighed. "Okay, whatever."

"Oh by the way," Konata pressed on, "Miyuki-san forgot to take her own drink with her, wink, wink."

Kagami bought the hint, though she didn't mind because one bottle alone was enough to fill her up. With a smile, she sat down and offered the other bottle to Miyuki.

"Oh no, I mustn't!" protested Miyuki whilst waving her arms, "At least... I cannot accept one without paying you first!"

"Oh come on Miyuki, put your money away!" chided Kagami, "I got one of them for free anyway, so take it! It's not big deal!"

"Well... okay!" surrendered Miyuki as the bottle was passed over to her, "Thank you, Kagami-san!"

Miyuki removed the top and gently pulled off the silver foil underneath. She also obtained a drinking straw from her pocket, and pushed the straw down in order to drink the contents. The straw looked kind of cute; a coloured white design with miniature pink polka dots scattered all over it. Konata looked at the way Miyuki sipped her drink. It certainly made the polite girl appear very moé.

"You know..." remarked Konata, "if you continue drinking like that, your break will be over before you'll finish!"

Miyuki blushed a little with embarrassment. "Oh... well... I am just following okaasan's advice..."

Question marks hovered over the rest of the girls.

"...she says if I choose to drink anything sugary, then I must use this straw, the reason for this being because it will go straight to my tummy without travelling through my teeth first!"

Tummy, thought Konata. Only moé girls use the word 'tummy'.

"I think I understand," mused Kagami, "though as Konata pointed out, it'll take a whole lot longer finishing it."

To which Miyuki replied with, "Well, as long as I don't have to go to... the... d-d-dentist again, I would go for the alternative."

The other three girls sweat dropped. Nobody enjoyed visiting the dentist, but for Miyuki, it was a nightmare coexisting with hell.

…

*** * * * ***

…

The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful, and at times even dragged along the borderline of boredom. However, once it was all over, Konata treated everyone to stay around her place until late evening. Fortunately for the otaku, Nanako had cooled off a bit since her little online trouble, so Konata was exempt from her ridiculous detention sentence. After a slow bus journey, the group of four all arrived at the Izumi household.

At this moment, Konata, Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki (yes, Miyuki was there too!) were all sat around the living room table. For a surprise treat, little cousin Yutaka had made raspberry jam filled donuts, to which she gave one each (on a plate of course) to Konata and her friends.

"Woah, these look really good!" Konata praised her cousin.

The others nodded in agreement, causing Yutaka to look to one side and blush. "Thanks! It's my first time making donuts so I hope you like them!"

Kagami gave her twin sister a gentle nudge. "Hey, looks like you have some competition," she whispered, making Tsukasa laugh nervously.

Yutaka bowed and walked back to the kitchen to clean up the mess she made making the cakes. Meanwhile, if there was a colour paler than white, Miyuki's face would be that colour. How was she able to eat a cake tainted with so much sugar?! She didn't want to insult Yutaka's home-made creation... and her friends were so tucked into their own cakes that they failed to remember poor Miyuki's sensitive little teeth.

The other girls were eating their donuts with varying speed. Kagami was marginally faster than Konata, as the two of them were making short work of their dessert. Tsukasa decided to take her time; the last time she ate anything with a filling, she took a deep bite out of it and inside flew metres across the room. She would never repeat that mistake again.

"Ah! That was great!" said a satisfied Kagami and Konata, showing off their empty plates within minutes. Tsukasa nodded happily when she was the third to finish.

Then... the three girls heard a rather strange slurping sound. They all turned their faces to the source of the commotion. With wide eyes, they couldn't believe the sight they saw. Miyuki... had pierced her spotty straw inside the donut... and with it, tried ever so hard in retrieving the raspberry jam. Her face was priceless; it was a deep shade of purple, and her eyes resembled a pair of 'x's.

(Please note: if this was an anime, the background music would have stopped at this stage)

Konata stood up so fast that the chair she was sitting on crashed to the floor.

"WOOOAAAHH!!!" she shouted at the top of her voice, pointing at poor Miyuki, "YOU HAVE JUST BEEN UPGRADED TO LEANING TOWER OF MOÉ!!!"


	11. My Valentine

**My Valentine**

Her wonder-filled sapphire eyes never left the cloudless sky. A gentle breeze animated her short violet hair beneath her yellow bow. Her blue and white sailor school outfit made her look simply divine.

She thought, how much longer do I have to wait on the school rooftop, but quickly, that thought was negated. She could stand there forever if she wanted to… for now, time was no longer a factor. Time ceased to exist.

The girl's name is Tsukasa Hiiragi… and inside of Tsukasa lied a secret. A secret that would change her world should it be exposed to another.

In her soft but firm hands was a pink heart shaped box with a blue, well crafted star positioned near the top right. Inside were lots of succulents sweets, waiting to be unveiled and devoured. She spent all night making and perfecting her gift… but that was only half the battle. The other half was waiting.

Suddenly… she heard a patter of footsteps, increasing with volume in every step. The door swung open and her heart leapt all over the place. Her friend had arrived, later than expected, but she arrived nonetheless. Nothing else was important anymore.

"Tsukasa…" came the unexpected greeting of the second girl.

The other girl in question is, in some ways, very much alike Tsukasa, the similarities being the colour of her eyes and hair. However, her sapphire eyes were more… focused, more serious looking than Tsukasa's somewhat lost and puppy-like ones. Her hair was much longer as well, and was tied and styled into twin ponytails using indigo coloured ribbon. Of course, she wore her sailor uniform too, but she shortened her own skirt by two inches, giving her some sort of a rebellious air wherever she went.

Her name is Kagami Hiiragi, the sister of Tsukasa. Her twin sister.

Kagami jogged towards Tsukasa until only a few feet stood between them. Tsukasa was always a shy, reserved sort of girl, and this short distance only amplified these characteristics.

Kagami, at last, shattered the silence. "Tsukasa, are you alright? I received your message, is everything okay?"

Tsukasa, making herself bold by the presence of her sister, closed her eyes tightly and stretched her arms forward, showing Kagami the pink heart she worked so hard on.

"H-Happy Valentine's day!" she shouted, losing control of her voice.

Kagami opened her mouth, but for a while, no words came out. For a few seconds, it almost seemed their roles were reversed. Tsukasa was overwhelmed with courage, and Kagami… felt a sense of nervousness. Why was her cute twin sister behaving in such a way?

Kagami thanked her for the gift. She carefully untied the star with a single hand, trying hard not to ruin her sister's beautiful masterpiece. She lifted the lid off the box with her other hand, revealing the most perfectly crafted sweets she had ever seen.

Kagami's eyes turned wide. "They're… they're beautiful…" she whispered.

…

They later found themselves sitting and resting by the railings. They shared chocolates, but not words, and neither of them knew whether they found the silence comforting or unsettling. A wry smile crept upon Kagami's lips. She promised herself not to indulge into anything unhealthy all week. Oh well, I couldn't help it, she thought. To refuse her sister's chocolate was a sin in its own right.

After some savouring, there remained one sweet inside the box; a single fudge finger, coated gracefully in milk chocolate. It was begging to be eaten.

Kagami found herself blushing. She turned away from her sister, but prodded the chocolate in her direction. "You better have it, I've eaten most of them." she said honestly.

Tsukasa performed the same actions as Kagami, turning away, blushing, but prodding the chocolate in the other direction instead. "No, I insist, you have it."

"We could… share it…" Kagami suggested.

Tsukasa turned into a deeper shade of red. "Well… if you want to…"

Kagami unwrapped the chocolate and proceeded to break it in two, when suddenly, Tsukasa grabbed her sister's wrist, almost shocking Kagami to the bone.

"Wait!" Tsukasa said loudly, "You… um… you eat one end, and I'll eat the other end…"

Kagami drew her breath sharply, but later decided to agree with a wide smile.

"Okay." she said.

Slowly, the twin sisters nibbled on the finger of fudge, one side for each mouth. Slowly, their mouths drew closer… and closer… until the remainder of fudge was soon replaced… with their lips… and tongues. The deep, passionate kiss felt like an endless cycle veiled in an eternity of time and space.

Finally, they released the kiss, and with half closed eyes, both of them looked at each other and smiled.

"I love you Kagami." Tsukasa whispered.

"I love you too Tsukasa." Kagami whispered back.

…and then Tsukasa inched closer to her… kissing her again… and again.

Their love may be forbidden… but it was love. Love and only love.

**-0-0-**

Kagami slammed the comic book down with authority.

"Just look at this!!" she shouted angrily, "Can you believe the nerve of this girl?!"

It was lunch time, and at this moment, only Konata and Kagami sat around one of the cafeteria tables. Tsukasa was in a queue for one of the vending machines, and Miyuki was studying in the school library.

Konata opened the Manga and her eyes at once widened.

"Did… Hiyorin draw this?" Konata asked… slowly.

"Of course she drew this!" snapped Kagami, "We just so happened to bump into each other in the hallway, and spilled our bags in the process! She must have accidentally got one of my text books, whilst I managed… to grab… JUST LOOK AT IT!! IT'S REPLUSIVE!!"

"I agree!" said Konata as she slammed the book shut, "You wait there! I'll find Hiyorin and give her a piece of my mind!"

Konata watched with disbelief as Konata rose from the seat and exited the door, post haste. The tsundere girl had never seen her blue haired friend… _behave _in such a way. Just as Konata left the cafeteria, Tsukasa appeared out of nowhere. She held a small bag of fudge in her right hand.

"I'm back!" the shy girl said with an eyesmile. She picked out a sweet and offered it to her sister. "Mmm! These fingers of fudge are really nice! Want to try one?"

Inside, Kagami was screaming.

**-0-0-**

It was a well known fact that Hiyori spent most of her breaks in the classroom. Since nobody else was here during these times, it allowed her to concentrate on her dojinshi without being interrupted. Unfortunately, she just realised that she and Kagami had accidentally swapped two certain books. Hiyori had Kagami's math text book, and Hiyori was missing a certain dojinshi… which meant…

Her heart skipped a beat. She panicked. She panicked a lot. That creation was only meant for herself and a few selective friends who could keep a secret. That _Kagami _had it… could spell doom for the rest of her life.

"Hiyorin!" Konata called out, before entering the classroom.

Hiyori, noticing the book held in the blunette's hands, threw her arms up high and caused a ruckus. "WAAAAGGH!! Oh God Konata! Did Kagami read it?! She read it, didn't she?! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please tell her I'm sorry! No wait! I better tell her! I couldn't resist drawing it! Please don't kill me!"

Konata calmly grabbed Hiyori's hands, causing her to end her wild behaviour.

"Hiyorin…" Konata said with seriousness.

Hiyori looked at her, unsure how to react.

"…HOW MUCH?!" Konata demanded.

Hiyori watched in fright as her friend suddenly bombarded her with coins, notes and even Haruhi trading cards.


	12. Raining Cats and Dogs

**Raining Cats and Dogs**

Four girls looked at the window where, outside, the weather changed from a drizzly grey into a ghastly downpour. Right now, they were seated inside one of the safest places from town; a moderately sized fast food restaurant which goes by the title of 'Honest Burger'.

Kagami made a face palm and her lazy eyes stole a glance at the scenery. She had long since eaten her meal which consisted of a chicken burger, French fries and a glass of coke. "Man, talk about raining cats and dogs." she mused.

Konata, midway through slurping a chocolate milkshake, was sitting opposite the tsundere at the time. "Hmm…"

Kagami glanced her attention towards the blue haired girl. "What is it?"

"What does that mean, 'raining cats and dogs'?" Konata asked.

Kagami scratched her cheek as she thought of an answer. "It's just another way of saying it's raining heavily."

Even Miyuki's attitude was effected by the weather, as she told the girls half-heartedly where the phase originated from. "I read this from a book somewhere. They say that dogs were attendants to Odin, who is the God of Storm… and sailors also associated dogs with the rainy weather." she stated.

"What about the cats?" asked Kagami.

To which Miyuki answered with, "Well, witches, who use magic to take the form of their feline familiars, are supposed to have ventured through the wind. Therefore, the statement 'raining cats and dogs' could actually translate to 'it is windy and raining."

Konata then thought of something. "Cats make lousy familiars."

"Eh?" was all Kagami could reply to that. Having a conversation with Konata was like having a race car make a sudden u-turn.

Konata continued her rambling. "They can only use stealth a third of the time, their success rate of pick pocketing is only twenty percent, and when they die, the protagonist who summoned the familiar loses one point of constitution permanently!"

"_She's talking RPG again." _thought Kagami.

Meanwhile, Tsukasa, who was still eating her cheeseburger, (she only preferred beef and cheese… she didn't ask for any other fillings because she thought they tasted yucky) had her head high up in the clouds…

**-0-0-**

Tsukasa stood alone on the lush green fields… when to her amazement… hordes of puppies and kittens slowly descended from the bright blue sky. It didn't take long before she was surrounded by many cute little animals. One fluffy white puppy floated into Tsukasa's awaiting hands. Tsukasa gently held the puppy closely to her face, and the small dog was relentless in happily licking her nose.

**-0-0-**

"Hey! Stop that!" Tsukasa giggled with closed eyes, "It really tickles Pyon-chan! Ha ha ha!"

She later snapped out of her trance when she realised not only her friends were staring at her, but also some customers were giving her strange looks as well.

…

**-0-0-**

Later on the sky had cleared and the twins decided to invite Konata over to their place. They invited Miyuki as well, but Miyuki told her friends she promised to do a few errands in the house for her mother. After their bus journey, the group of three girls went inside the Hiiragi house and were now lazily relaxing in Kagami's bedroom. Since then, two hours have passed by.

For a change of pace, Kagami decided to play a game of Tetris on her computer console. All of her shoot 'em up games have proven too difficult for her at the moment (though she wouldn't admit that to Konata), so she left them alone for the time being. Tsukasa was happy enough watching her sister as she sat on the floor next to her. As for Konata, she took full advantage of Kagami's bed, laying on top of it whilst reading a Manga. At this moment, Kagami reached level five of the game, to which the speed of the falling blocks have now changed significantly. Meanwhile, things were beginning to heat up with every page Konata turned. She could sense a love triangle emerging, and the protagonist was no doubt going to be the centre of attention.

"Wouldn't it be great if it really were raining cats and dogs?" Tsukasa suddenly said out of nowhere, "I would love to see lots of kittens and puppies descend from the clouds!"

Though still playing, Kagami could not believe the words coming out of her sister's mouth. Kagami opened her own mouth, but could not think of a single thing to say. That conversation starter really caught her off guard.

Konata felt the need to join in the debate, proof that she only partially concentrated on reading. "Ah but keep in mind it could also rain tigers and werewolves, since they belong in the cat and dog family as well!"

Tsukasa's eyes shrunk into white dots and placed both of her hands on her cheeks. "Oh no! That would be terrible!"

"Ah, but if that sort of thing happened in a multi-play online game, imagine all the experience we could get!" said Konata.

"Um… oh yeah." realised Tsukasa, though it was obvious she had little clue as to what Konata was saying. "It… it would still be scary though."

"_Am I the only one that lives in the real world?"_ Kagami thought to herself.

Konata sat up and pointed at the screen. "Hey, Kagamin, you're not concentrating!"

Kagami nearly shrieked when she realised half the screen was already filled with misplaced blocks.


	13. Race Against Time

**Race Against Time**

The police car expertly avoided numerous hordes of traffic, all the while maintaining its blistering speed. The red siren sounded its alarm and flashed its rotating rays of light. The driver narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. One false move, or one second of hesitation, and she may jeopardise herself and other bystanders who were just innocently going about their own business. Should that happen, she was sure to face an indefinite suspension. Yes, there would be no excuses, she would be out of a job for good.

Despite driving with such intensity, the driver managed to park incredibly well, only a few inches away from the curb. The moment the car stopped, the solo policewoman burst out of the front door. She leapt in the air in slow motion. Her police hat fell to one side, exposing short, spiky green hair and serious looking amber eyes behind oval shaped glasses.

Meet Yui Narumi; loving sister, cousin and wife… but when she wore her officer uniform, she was a reformed character. She was still caring in a way that she would look after pedestrians in need of aid, but when she had a serious mission to accomplish… Yui was a force to be reckoned with. Today, Yui was on a mission.

When her feet touched the ground, Yui dashed in a ninja-anime sort of style. Her required destination was now only a few metres away; a gigantic monster of a store. There was no mistaking the green and blue Japanese symbols on the roof. Yes, without a doubt, this was definitely the spot Yui needed to carry out her objective. The double doors automatically slid open, and Yui paused for a second when she ventured inside.

The policewoman narrowed her eyes. She fished out a photo in her trouser pocket. She nodded as she looked at the picture. With one glance, Yui would be able to find and catch the rogue before it was too late…

…

…

… but there were so many to choose from! Western, brightly coloured figures with special guns… Hello Kitty Sailor toys… dolls… robots… board games… many things both weird and wonderful. Unfortunately the aisles themselves towered above normal height, and the store itself stretched as far as ordinary vision could detect. Yui wondered if she visited a toy store or a labyrinth.

Without wasting anymore time, Yui ran over to the nearest member of staff she could find; a middle aged man dressed in black trousers, a white shirt and a bright red jacket. She grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and pulled him close so their faces were an inch apart.

"HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TOY?!?" Yui demanded loudly, shoving the picture in his face.

The member of staff trembled with terror. He tried to remain calm by taking many deep breaths, but in the end the pressure proved too much for him to handle. Somehow he managed to escape from her grip, and with hands flailing around, the man ran away screaming.

"Curses." Yui muttered.

Back in her ninja mode, Yui whizzed past the many aisles and people occupying the shop floor. More than enough children inhabited this place, all individually dressed in a manner of colourful clothing, all in their early teens or younger, and all overloading with excitement. With a build of speed, Yui leapt and somersaulted over a crowd of children, who were all too busy to notice the policewoman because they were intrigued with a special offer action figure.

Unfortunately, Yui could not steer herself in mid-flight, and found herself belly flopping into another member of staff. This particular guy was twenty years old and had more zits than skin (it was a miracle he did not explode from contact). However, Yui remained on top of the man, much to his distress (or excitement, if he was one of those twisted, perverted kinds).

"OKAY YOUNG MAN!!" Yui shouted with her photograph, "I WANT THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!!"

"ALRIGHT!! I CONFESS!!" the man wailed with never ending tears, "IT WAS ME WHO STOLE ALL THOSE PANTIES BACK IN THE SEVENTH GRADE, BUT I COULDN'T HELP IT!! THEY WERE SO PINK AND WHITE AND PRETTY… AND ONE EVEN HAD A PICTURE OF A BUTTERFLY IN THE MIDDLE!!"

(Yes, he was one of those twisted, perverted kinds).

With a question mark hovering above her head, Yui figured she wasn't going to get any answers from this weirdo. At least, she wasn't getting the answers _she_ wanted, so she rose back to her feet and dashed someplace else. Meanwhile, the geeky staff member sat up and noticed lots of people giving him very curious looks. He shrunk to a tenth of his original size.

After much running, Yui encountered a third member of staff; a short, stocky middle aged woman with shoulder length brown hair and ordinary looking glasses. Fortunately, when Yui approached her and forced the picture between her eyes, the staff member managed to retain her composure.

"You're looking for that one?" she asked, and Yui nodded furiously to her question, "Aisle seven, just keep heading to the left."

Finally! The answer she was looking for! Following her advice, Yui ran for a further twenty seconds before skidding to a grinding half. There it was! To the left, aisle seven, second shelf from the top… completely bare except for a solo Clefairy plushie! Yui went on her tiptoes before she could hold the prize in both hands.

"Yahoo! Mission accomplished!" she announced once she grabbed the doll.

Of course, Yui had to pay for the doll as well, but just retrieving the blasted thing depleted most of her energy. However, as she was about to join the queue for the checkout, Yui heard a snivelling sound behind her.

She turned around.

A tiny blonde haired girl, no older than six, looked up at Yui with big blue eyes. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She wore a pretty blue dress, long white socks and darling red shoes, resembling a miniature version of a princess. It was apparent she wanted what Yui was holding.

Yui sagged her shoulders. This doll was her primary objective… but it would leave a bitter taste in her mouth if she neglected this sorrowful looking girl.

"Sorry sis." Yui whispered under her breath.

…

…

**-0-0-**

…

…

A delightful ambience filled the Izumi house. Konata, Yutaka, the Hiiragi twins, Ayano, Patricia, Minami, Hiyori and Misao were all happily talking and laughing with each other. Sojiro was busy preparing some food in the kitchen, though truth be told, there was no way he could handle so many girls in one room without his imagination exploding. Miyuki wasn't around because she had to take Cherry to the vet. The poor dog had slightly twisted her ankle. All of the girls were dressed casually, and some of them were wearing coloured paper crowns.

Suddenly, Yui blasted the door open and dashed into the living room, not properly acknowledging the vast number of girls inside the house. The policewoman approached her younger sister and offered her a gift wrapped present.

"Happy birthday sis!" Yui said happily, though her voice did contain a trace of guilt at the same time.

Kagami folded her arms and grinned. "Talk about making an entrance."

"That's my cousin for you!" said a smiling Konata.

Yutaka opened the present with haste, but was mature enough not to rip the thing to shreds. She picked up the doll from inside, and her broadened smile indicated Yui had made a good choice.

"Um, sorry." apologised Yui whilst rubbing her back, "The doll you wanted was out of stock, so I got you this Jigglypuff one instead!"

Yutaka didn't mind in the least, for it was equally cute, if not even more adorable than the one she asked for.

"It's wonderful!" she said as she wrapped her tiny arms around her older sister, "Thank you!"

Sojiro arrived to the room just in time. Witnessing this touching scene between family, he couldn't help but smile with everyone else. Konata, however, could not help but feel a hint of envy.

"_Oooh! That Jigglypuff would look great on my top shelf!" _Konata thought, _"Since I have a Jigglypuff on my Pokémon Platinum game… it could make a great mascot or something! Then after twenty years I can sell it for millions! Hmm… I wonder if she is willing to trade?"_

After releasing herself from the hug, Yutaka flinched when she realised Konata was approaching her in a zombie like manner.

"Oh Yutaka-chaaan."

Yutaka felt a sixth sense deep within her, so she held her doll tightly. "No! I'm sorry, but you can't have my doll!"

Sojiro and the rest of the girls laughed, and Konata could only cross her arms and make a pouting gesture.


	14. Battle for the Birthday Cake!

**Battle for the Birthday Cake!**

As she adjusted the green paper crown on her head, Konata closed her eyes and punched into the air.

"Tourney time!" she declared, rushing upstairs to retrieve her console, before going back downstairs to the living room again. "Whoever wins has the last slice of birthday cake!"

"Konata!" shouted Kagami, "Shouldn't Yutaka have the last slice?! It _is_ her birthday after all!"

"It's okay!" Yutaka said with a bright smile, "I don't think I can eat another bite."

"Then it's settled!" Konata concluded, not waiting for any more protests, "We'll play Tekken 5, and the champion shall collect the prize! Who wants to participate?"

There was a mixed reaction from the girls as some raised their hands and others took a step back. Kagami, Patricia, Misao, Yui (much to everyone's surprise), and of course the ringleader herself all elected themselves to take part. Konata put five written pieces of paper inside a cup and gently shook it. Kagami sagged her shoulders. It was a rare sight to see the blunette so full of energy, unless it included gaming or involved one of her other hobbies.

"Okay, since we have an odd number of participants, the first name drawn will get a bye!" Konata stated as she picked the first piece of paper from the cup. She unfolded the paper and Patricia's name was revealed. "Oooh Patty! You are the chosen one!"

"Yay!" cheered Patricia, but then placed a finger on her lips. "Um... what do you mean by 'getting a bye?'"

"It means you skip the first round and move straight onto the next." replied Kagami, "You could say it's like getting a free win."

"So I've already won a game? I rule!" said Patricia with another cheer.

Kagami let out an angry sigh. _"Was she actually listening to me?"_

Konata then picked up two pieces of paper. She opened them up and showed the names to the rest of the girls.

Kagami was the first girl to read the names aloud. "Misao and Konata." she stated flatly.

"Yahoo! I get a bye too!" cheered Konata.

"Don't be so overconfident!!" snapped Kagami, _"Even if it is Misao."_

Misao rubbed the back of her head and laughed. "Ah ha ha! I should probably just forfeit!"

Kagami then faced Misao. "And you, don't give up so easily!!"

So in the living room, the tournament was well on its way. In the first round, Konata and Misao selected their favourite fighters. Konata had chosen the feisty female, Asuka Kazama, whereas Misao picked the oversized Panda…

…

…

…after Konata's double perfect victory, Kagami would then square off against Yui. Kagami selected Hwoarang and Yui selected Anna Williams. During the battle, Konata made a sly comment about how Kagami always likes to control the guys, putting the tsundere slightly off her game. Despite Konata's cheap remarks though, Kagami still managed to win without breaking much sweat.

"Woah, that game was too fast for me!" remarked Yui.

In the second round, everyone was surprised when Patricia received _another _bye, meaning Kagami and Konata would fight to the death. Kagami did give her long time rival a run for her money, but in the end, the bluenette proved to be too overpowering, especially when she perfected her twelve hit combo. Konata was on a roll.

So after receiving two byes, Patricia would at long last actually face somebody. Her character was the sword wielding Yoshimitsu, whereas Konata stuck with Asuka throughout the remainder of the tournament. Konata won the first battle in a near flawless victory, but just as she got cocky, Patricia managed to beat her in the second fight (albeit barely). Konata then narrowed her eyes into slits. Now it got personal.

In the third fight, Konata had half of her energy reduced, whilst Patricia was down to an inch of her health… but as Konata thought she had this won… the green paper crown on top of her head slid all the way down to her eyes, completely concealing her line of vision! Patricia seized the opening and performed the vicious sword stab move, defeating her opponent and making the westerner the supreme champion!

"Aaaah! Curse you evil paper crown!" cursed Konata, as she adjusted her head-wear.

"To the victor, the spoils!" Kagami closed her eyes and grinned, handing the plate of cake over to Patricia.

After receiving the prize, Patricia laughed as she rubbed the back of her head with her free hand.

"Ha ha! I guess you could say that tournament was a piece of cake!" Patricia joked.

Everyone groaned.

"Patty… that's just lame." said Konata.


	15. I Never

**I Never**

Seated around a circular wooden table were Konata, Kagami, Tsukasa, Minami and Hiyori. The non-participants simply stood behind them, deciding it would be best to watch rather than play. Each of the six players had a small plate in front of them, and on each plate were four jelly babies; one red, one green, one yellow and one black.

"How do we play this game again?" asked Yutaka, who was a little nervous because she never played anything like this before.

"It's simple!" Konata told her cousin, "You say something you have never done in your life, and anyone around you who has done what you just said must eat one of the four jelly babies shown on her plate! The first player to eat all of their jelly babies has to play a forfeit!"

"Don't worry," assured Kagami, "you'll understand once we get into the swing of things."

Yutaka nodded, but she still didn't feel all that comfortable. Perhaps it was the forfeit that made her feel worried, but hopefully they would go easy on her because it was her birthday.

"I'll go first..." declared Konata, raising her hand in the air.

Kagami frowned. _"Why does she have to go first?"_

"...okay... I have never... kissed a girl!"

"What sort of statement is that?!" said Kagami.

"What? Don't tell me you have pressed your tender loving lips with... a man?" Konata cutely asked, batting her eyelids. Patricia, Ayano and Misao giggled from Konata's amusing choice of words.

"Of course not!!" shouted Kagami.

Suddenly, everyone gasped when they realised Minami had already popped a green jelly baby in her mouth. When she noticed she was the centre of attention, the reserved girl turned red almost immediately.

"When I was five, I kissed Miyuki on the cheek," she stated quietly, and left it as that.

"Oooh! This is getting interesting already!" beamed Konata, who felt so proud of being part of this game.

It was then Kagami's turn to say something. "Hmm... let's see..."

Her expression then turned into an eyesmile, but everyone who knew Kagami well would realise the eyesmile was just a mask to hide her evil interior.

"...I _never _wrote a sleazy Manga before..."

Hiyori's heart stopped. Numerous beads of sweat trailed quickly over her forehead and face. Swiftly, she grabbed a yellow jelly baby and swallowed the thing whole.

"Um, what do you mean by a sleazy Manga?" asked Yutaka, in her oh so innocent way.

Konata cleared her throat. "Ahem! Moving on! Tsukasa! It's your go!"

Tsukasa was deep in thought. Fortunately, she didn't take too long, much to Kagami's relief, because she knew how slow her sister could be at times. "Um... hmm... I never... I never got more than sixty percent in any of my exams."

"Hm, not a bad one, Tsukasa!" Kagami said as she popped a black jelly baby in her mouth. Konata, Minami and Hiyori also ate a jelly baby from their plates.

"Mm, though by saying that, you are kind of insulting yourself," Konata stated, still chewing through her sweet.

"That's true," replied Tsukasa with a guilty eyesmile.

Kagami thought about what Konata had said. _"With your laziness, it's a miracle how you ever reach double figures."_

"Um... it's your turn, Yutaka-chan," Minami said softly.

Yutaka took a good while thinking of something intelligent to say. She placed a finger on her lips for some time.

"I got one!" she chirped, "I have never... been splashed by a car!"

"Like when a car drives over a large puddle?" asked Hiyori.

Yutaka nodded with an eyesmile. "Mm-hm!"

"Ah, good one!" Konata praised her cousin, "Although... that sort of thing never happens to me."

"Same here," said Hiyori, "though it does occur in some Mangas."

"Nor me," said Tsukasa, and Minami shook her head as well.

Everyone paused for a moment...

…

...then, everyone looked at Kagami...

…

...with a low growl, Kagami picked up a jelly baby and shoved it into her mouth. Some of the girls could not help but giggle at the tsundere's misfortune.

Konata covered her catlike smile for a second, before she turned around and faced no one in particular.

"Oooh! I can just imagine the scene! Kagamin had a bad day at school, and then, just after she said: 'my day could not get any worse,' SPLOSH! A sports car drove into a puddle and completely drenched her!"

"THAT NEVER HAPPENED AT ALL!!" roared a red faced Kagami, though in all actuality, that's _exactly _how it happened.

"It's your turn, Minami-chan," Yutaka said to her taller friend.

Minami also took her time thinking, though she had none of that cuteness like when Tsukasa or Yutaka were thinking. Rather, she retained a sort of distant expression.

"I never... have eaten lobster and potato stew," she said quietly.

…

…

It was so silent, one could hear the crickets chirping outside.

"Um... who's next?" Kagami decided to say, and Minami lowered her head like a turtle withdrawing into its shell.

"Okay," said Hiyori, "I have never played an online RPG."

No messing around with that statement, thought the girls. Konata, Kagami and Tsukasa all picked up and ate a jelly baby.

"My turn again!" beamed Konata. The blunette glanced towards Kagami's plate and noticed there was only one jelly baby left. "I have never eaten the black jelly baby in this game!"

"What?!" shouted Kagami, "So now you're blatantly picking on me?!"

Everyone laughed and Kagami, ever so reluctantly, ate the last of her jelly babies. Since it was Yutaka's birthday, she was the one who had to issue the forfeit to Kagami. With some encouragement from Konata, Yutaka had finally thought up of something...

*** * * * ***

In the kitchen, Sojiro happily whistled to himself as she washed all the plates and cutlery. It didn't take him long to notice Kagami walking into the room.

Sojiro put the plates to one side. "Oh, hey... are you alright?" he asked her.

Kagami chose to say nothing. With an increasing redness on her cheeks, Kagami reached out of her tiptoes... and gave Konata's father a rather delightful eskimo kiss.

Sojiro just stood there, bewildered and frozen.

*** * * * ***

Kagami stomped her way back into the living room. "Okay, I did it, happy now?!" she said.

"Ah, but how do _we _know?" asked Patricia with a smile, "You could have just went in the kitchen, and did nothing else!"

Everyone winced when they heard the sound of somebody collapsing in the kitchen.

"Patty, I may have to disagree with you there," said Konata.


	16. Yui Goes Online!

**Yui Goes Online**

The time was half past ten at night. With the twins, Misao and Ayano being the last girls to go, all of the guests have finally left the Izumi house. Yutaka, who was so exhausted after enjoying her birthday, fell asleep the moment she collapsed on the pillow of her bed. Fortunately, tomorrow was a Sunday, so Yutaka didn't have to worry about waking up late for school. Sojiro was also fast asleep, and he was probably dreaming about all of the cute girls that stayed inside his house. He never stopped smiling as he slept, and a tiny bit of drool escaped from his mouth.

As for Konata and Yui however, the night was still young. In Konata's bedroom, the blunette was teaching her older cousin how to play an online role playing game, the same fantasy game which Konata and her friends play on a lazy afternoon (or any time Konata doesn't want to study). Yui hadn't begun playing yet though. She still had to create her character and decide what sort of race and class she wanted to be. After some fiddling around with the mouse, Yui managed to conjure up her own design.

"Wow! She looks just like me!" she announced, and she was right; her height, her short green hair, everything about her was perfectly replicated on the computer screen, on a smaller scale naturally.

Konata, who was sitting on a chair nearby, placed a hand over her right cheek and smiled. "Lots of people create characters based on their own appearance. It's much easier than designing something original by scratch."

Yui frowned as she studied the screen carefully, noting her character had a certain lack of wardrobe. "I wish I could wear something else rather than a white vest and underwear," she mused.

"Ah!" replied the all knowing online guru, "When you click on 'done', you will then be taken to the 'race/class' screen. You will wear a default set of clothing depending on what you choose."

Yui paused to think. The monitor showed two window screens, each with a scroll bar on the right side. The first screen gave Yui the option of being a human, an elf, a dwarf, a halfling or a half-orc. The second screen gave Yui the option of being a warrior, a wizard, an archer... in fact there were over twenty different professions to choose from. Yui wondered if she was going to finish her character before dawn.

One by one, Yui clicked on the five different races. Human was already listed on the default selection, so she clicked the next one down; the elf. Yui's character suddenly looked leaner and developed long, pointed ears. She clicked on the next one and gasped. The dwarf made her look short, plump and ugly looking, so she swiftly moved onto the next one. The halfling didn't fare any better. She didn't look as fat, but the hair on her feet was a bit of a turn off, so she moved onto the half-orc. She kind of wished she hadn't. Not only did her character rise a few inches higher than her normal self, but she also developed vastly sized muscles, and two giant fangs occupied the sides of her lower lip.

In the end, Yui decided to be a human, for it was the only choice that made her... not look weird. For her class, she selected to be a magic gunman. She was presented with twin pistols and her default clothing consisted of a dark grey leather suit which covered all except her face and neck.

"Oooh! You look so deliciously sexy, neesan!" remarked Konata. Yui rubbed the back of her head and laughed.

When Yui clicked on 'done' again, at last the adventure would begin! Yui was placed in the middle of a randomly chosen village. Not much was going on. There were a few stores littered around the place, but Yui had no gold to begin with, so that didn't really help matters. Otherwise, there wasn't really a lot to report; just a few non player characters such as beggars, commoners and largely obese shopkeepers who looked like beach balls with hands and feet. Unfortunately there were no player characters present in the area.

"Um... so what am I supposed to do?" asked Yui as she scratched the top of her skull.

"Get lots of gold and experience of course!" stated Konata, "You can either apply for quests or explore in forests and caves!"

Exploring sounded good for Yui, so she hastily left the village, ventured into a deep forest (dispatching a few really weak goblins along the way), and found a huge cave that read gold and experience all over it. However, a busty amazon, who wore a red swimsuit with bits of armour (at least that's what it looked like), blocked Yui's path with a golden spear.

'Fool!' the amazon said, though she didn't actually say anything, some text just appeared above her head, 'Dare you risk your neck and enter the Cave of Maliciousness?'

Yui had the option of saying yes or no. She selected yes and the amazon replied with some choice words before reluctantly allowing Yui to go inside.

"Ha ha!" Yui beamed, "No one messes with Police Cop Crusader Yui!"

"_I still can't believe she called herself that," _thought Konata with a sigh.

After much walking, Yui explored the heart of the cave. Suddenly, a loud, ghastly groan alerted Yui and Konata. At last, thought Yui, more monsters to slay! Through the dim light, Yui could make out three large looking zombies shuffling towards her.

"Have at thee, evil dead!" declared Yui.

Her character aimed her twin pistols at the undead and opened fire, expecting them to succumb to the hail of magical bullets. They did not bleed. In fact, they didn't even flinch.

"Um, neesan," Konata tried to reason, "they're not just zombies, they're ghoul lords."

"Oh... so I take it they're a bit stronger?" asked Yui.

Konata nodded. "Well, let's put it this way; you're level two. They're level sixteen."

One of the ghoul lords flung a dark star-like spell over Yui's character, making her lose nearly all of her health in one go.

"And they can also cast death magic," Konata pointed out.

"Run away! Run away!" panicked Yui, clicking crazily with her mouse so her character would dash from the vicious encounter.

"Wait!" Konata told Yui, "You're not escaping from the cave! You're going deeper into it!"

"Ack! Oh no! I'm trapped!"

"You know... for your first go, you're taking this pretty seriously..."

Yui's character faced a dead end, and the three ghouls had already caught up with her. They all rose their bony arms and a dark energy appeared around their grotesque hands. Yui gulped. This was it. This was the end...

"_I don't think she realises you respawn after death," _thought Konata.

…

...there was an abrupt sound of a short sword as it struck flesh three times. The ghouls stared at Yui's character for a moment before crashing into the stony ground, grey blood escaping from their open wounds. One of the ghouls still had the mentioned blade deep inside its withered back.

Behind the corpses stood a female warrior; poised, strong and completely without fear. Her armour was of an elaborate design of brown and green, and her weapon shimmered with a terrific whiteness. Her long, beautiful blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail.

The warrior walked four steps forward and, with a mighty tug, pulled out her blade from the deceased monster. Yui was awestruck. This player character looked seriously cool.

"Ooooh! That's our teacher!" said Konata, pointing at the screen as she spoke.

"Teacher?" Yui asked.

Konata nodded. "Yeah! You know, Kuroi-sensei! She's the one who always thinks you're single!"

An invisible hand clutched itself around Yui's neck. When they first met, Yui didn't seem to mind Nanako's company one bit. As time progressed however, whenever Nanako and Yui crossed paths, the first thing Nanako would do is latch onto her arm and they would spend the rest of the day (and night) going to single bars. Not to mention Yui always had to drive her back because Nanako would get completely wasted after the first pint.

"_Okay, okay. Relax." _thought Yui, _"She probably doesn't know who I am."_

But then she realised her character looked exactly like herself.

A typed message floated above Nanako's character. It read: 'Hey Yui! I didn't know you played this game! Guess us single girls have to stick together huh?'

Drenched in terror, Yui turned to face Konata and violently shook her shoulders. "AAAH!! KONATA!! YOU GOTTA HELP ME! PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!!" she shouted.

Konata managed to escape her cousin's hold. The blunette turned to face no one in particular, and covered her catlike smile as she spoke. "But neesan! She just saved you from inevitable doom! You should at least show gratitude to your saviour!"

Yui slowly looked back at the screen. Konata was right! Nanako could have left her for dead... though poor Yui still thought once you died, that was it, she was finished, game over. Poor misguided Yui.

"Anyway, I'm just going downstairs to watch some late night telly!" Konata announced, leaving her bedroom once she finished speaking.

Yui almost resembled a ghoul herself, as she reached out to grab Konata, but only succeeded in clutching thin air.

"Noooo... Konataaaa... come back....."

…

*** * * * ***

…

Downstairs in the living room, only half an hour had passed by before Konata was fed up. One of her favourite anime shows had been cancelled due to a special event program running longer than expected. With a sigh, she turned off the telly, went to the kitchen to make herself a drink, and returned to her bedroom.

When Konata entered her room, she was surprised to see Yui still playing online with Nanako. Even more to her surprise was that Yui already reached level five.

When Konata asked what was going on, Yui explained about the new dungeon they explored, not to mention all of the weird and wonderful monsters they encountered along the way. At this moment, Yui and Nanako were celebrating their most recent victory by spending the night in a singles only tavern... where Yui's character was constantly being hit on by a dwarf and a half-orc.

"I bet you haven't told her that you're already married," Konata said with a grin.

Yui turned around to face Konata. Her eyes were narrowed into slits, and came complete with forever descending waterfall tears.

"I didn't have the heart to!" she wept, "She gave me some magical boots and an amulet of accuracy!"


	17. Last Resort

**Last Resort**

After the birthday bash, Misao and Ayano stayed over the night at the twin's house. Everyone slept like a log that night, and Misao was still lazy enough to be in her pajamas at eleven o'clock in the morning. At this moment in time, Kagami, Misao and Ayano were all relaxing in Kagami's bedroom. Kagami, sitting cross legged on the floor, was playing the tetris game on her Playstation 2. Misao sat in a similar fashion next to Kagami, and appeared happy enough to watch her friend play. Ayano took full advantage of Kagami's bed, resting on her front whilst reading a light novel. Tsukasa had some leftover coursework to finish, and knew she would get easily distracted if she ventured in her sister's room. The rest of the Hiiragi family were taking an afternoon stroll to the park, meaning the four girls had the house to themselves.

Kagami sighed when she heard the phone ring downstairs. It was likely to be Konata, and it was likely she wanted Kagami to help her out with some coursework (though why the blunette couldn't ring her mobile, nobody knows... probably because she lost her own mobile... as well as Kagami's mobile number). Kagami tried to pause the game... but unfortunately for her, the start button didn't work. Due to an overuse of the controller, the button was pushed down to a degree where it was simply no longer press-able. Great, that's all that she needs, a controller without a pause function. What's more, that was the only one left in the room, for she lost the second controller somewhere in the house.

Kagami searched frantically for a solution whilst the phone was still ringing. Ayano looked really indulged in her reading. Therefore, to Kagami's demise, there was only one available option.

"Here, you take over." she told Misao, handing her the controller.

Misao had a bemused smile on her face. "Eh? Can't you just pause it?"

"I can't! The button doesn't work!" Kagami stated, matter of factly.

Without another word to spare, Kagami rushed down the stairs to answer the phone.

*** * * * ***

Three minutes later, Kagami put the phone down and walked back up the stairs. _"I can't believe Konata hasn't started on her history homework..." _she thought to herself.

When she entered her bedroom, Kagami stared at the screen in horror. Nearly all of the tetris pieces were stacked up high in the middle. Nothing on the left, nothing on the right, but plenty of 'L' shapes, squares and rectangles in the centre. Misao, hearing Kagami's entrance, turned her head around and laughed nervously.

"I forgot how to play this game!" came Misao's lame excuse, "Do you have to make vertical lines, or horizontal ones?"

Kagami wilted in a dejected fashion.

"Hey, you've been watching me play for the last half an hour." she said sourly.

*** * * * ***

Ten minutes later and Kagami decided to play another game, this one titled X2. X2 is a retro sideways scrolling shoot 'em up, and shoot 'em ups were the tsundere's speciality, so it came to no surprise when she already reached level three without losing a life.

The phone rang again, so with a sigh, Kagami (reluctantly) gave the controls back to Misao. Well, who knows, if she kept pressing down the fire button and move around from time to time, she could actually hold her own for a bit.

Kagami walked down the stairs and picked up the phone for a second time. It was Konata again...

*** * * * ***

Kagami put the phone down.

"_I can't believe she wanted me to email my entire history project to her..." _grumbled Kagami as she rushed back upstairs... just in time to see her last spaceship colliding head first into a dirty great asteroid. Misao turned her head around and laughed nervously.

"Sorry Kagami!" apologised Misao, "I've never played a shooty game before!"

"You're supposed to shoot the rocks, not run into them." Kagami groaned, _"They're called shoot 'em ups, not 'shooty games'._

*** * * * ***

A while later and Kagami decided to play a game Konata had lent to her; the fighting game Tekken 5. She was playing the survival mode option, where she had to defeat as many fighters as possible whilst retaining the same health she had leftover from her previous battle. She controlled the kicking fiend, Hwoarang, since she was use to his fighting style (though she would never admit it, she would like to have a boyfriend with Hwoarang's appearance and physique). So far, Kagami had fought and defeated eight fighters without losing too much energy. Yes, she was certainly getting quite into the game.

The phone rang... and Kagami died a little inside. She gave the controller to Misao, knowing full well when she returned, Hwoarang would be reduced to mincemeat.

Kagami went downstairs and picked up the phone for the third time.

"Hello Konata..." she said, minus the enthusiasm.

"Woah! How did you know it was me?" replied Konata on the other end. She was joking, of course.

"Lucky guess." sighed Kagami

*** * * * ***

Kagami put the phone down.

"_I can't believe she's given up her studying, and now wants to play online with me..." _muttered Kagami as she ran upstairs... and then she realised something, _"...no wait... actually, I can believe that."_

As she entered the bedroom, as expected, Misao got the stuffing kicked out of her... by a boxing kangaroo, no less.

"Sorry!" chirped the brown haired girl, "Guess I'm not cut out for fighting games either!"

Kagami sagged her shoulders. "Well, it was to be expected..."

She then took a good look at the television screen.

" ...hey... hey, wait a second! Why are you entering _your _name on the high score table?!"

"Ah... force of habit I guess!" Misao said with a light chuckle.

Kagami turned her anger up a notch. "What do you mean 'force of habit'?! When was the last time you ever got a high score?!"

Ayano suddenly gasped out of nowhere.

"Ohmigosh!" she shrieked, "First there's a love triangle, and now the main character gets hacked to death with a hatchet?!?"

Kagami turned her anger up another notch.

"Hey!! I haven't finished that one yet!!" she turned to Ayano and shouted.


	18. The Sudden Excitement of Konata Izumi!

**The Sudden Excitement of Konata Izumi!**

It was nine o'clock on a Sunday night. In their respective bedrooms, Yutaka was going through some last minute studying whilst Sojiro had some leftover work to do on his laptop. This left Konata all by herself in the living room, and boy was she bored. Normally she wouldn't mind watching reruns of anime, but when she saw the same one over a dozen times, even for the legendary otaku, it proved to be too much for her to handle. She could feel herself literally melting into the couch. She grabbed the remote and decided to do a little channel hopping before going to her bedroom. There was nothing else on telly except for a few advertisements. Konata sighed. Five adverts and then I'll hit the hay, she thought.

The first advert displayed a sweetie bag labelled 'super succulent fruity chews'. Rainbows, stars and hearts all floated in random directions, whilst a female voice told the viewer how super and succulent the sweets really were. The sight of the sweet made Konata's mouth water, and the array of colours gave her a thumping headache. Konata thought, adverts like this should be taken off the air, in fear of people's brains being reduced to slop.

The second one introduced a top selling burger company. There was nothing really thrilling about this one, it just explained all the food they sell (mostly burgers) and how much they sold them at. It was certainly a no nonsense, to the point sort of advert, but it didn't have that 'kick' Konata craved for. Still, the food looked good enough to eat, and the prices were pretty reasonable.

The third advert showed a whole range of Gundam action figure toys. It was okay. There was heavy metal music, which kind of fitted the genre well, but the voice commentary was so over the top, it was a wonder the guy's head didn't explode through mid-speech. Konata regarded the advert with a simple 'meh'. Mecha animes were not really her cup of tea.

The fourth one sucked tremendously, not to mention it was completely corny. It was about a schoolboy running to his bedroom in an excited manner, only to grab a book from his shelf (not a Manga, a book with _words_) and started to read it, page for page. The female voice in the background simply said 'open a book, and you will open your mind'. Konata paled at the choice words from the advertisement. What a blatant lie! How could someone obtain so much excitement from reading an ordinary, bog standard book, filled with nothing but words? Blasphemy!

Konata thought, forget the fifth advert, let's go to bed before something even worse shows up, but just as she was about to switch off the telly, something happened. Even though the telly was on, the screen remained pitch black. Was there something wrong with the channel? Konata tilted her head in confusion. Suddenly, the sound of an alarm clock got her attention. It rung once... twice... though the screen still remained black.

Konata could hear the sound of a teenage girl groaning, and later heard a sound of her turning off the alarm clock with the palm of her hand. Konata then heard sounds of her getting out of bed before taking a few steps forward to flick her light switch on. From that instant, the screen changed from pitch black... to showing the anime character, the well known Haruhi Suzumiya, in her brightly lit bedroom, standing tall and stretching her arms far and wide. Haruhi's chocolatey, unkempt hair only accumulated her already gorgeous appearance. Her bed wear consisted of a loose fitting white vest and a pink pair of panties. As she lazily stepped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, a slow rock and rhythm melody played in the background; guitars, drums and bass were all present and accounted for. The camera zoomed in when she opened the fridge door. A rogue carton of milk was swiftly swiped from the second shelf, and was opened up and drunk all in the space of a few seconds. Haruhi closed her eyes as she savoured the taste of full cream milk. Some of the milk escaped and trickled down the right side of her mouth, which later delicately flowed down to her chin. A few drops fell in slow motion onto the kitchen floor, making amplified, slow motioned splashes upon contact.

During this time, Konata shuffled herself forward so she was a mere few inches away from the television. She was awestruck, the proof literally shown from her widened eyes. Gone was that tiredness she once had before.

When Haruhi finished the carton, she let out a satisfied sigh and wiped the excess milk from her mouth. Finally, she slammed the carton straight into the view of the camera. Two words, amplified in bold red font were shown in the middle of the screen. They simply read: **'GOT MANGA?'**, its message so basic, yet so awesome, so powerful. That was it. Done. The screen instantly turned to pitch black again before moving onto the next advert.

At last, the time bomb deep within Konata's soul exploded into billions of rainbow coloured confetti. She bolted herself to her feet and scrambled for the phone, but it was already ringing before she got there, causing her to jump out of her skin. Gasping, Konata picked up the phone. Patricia was on the other side. They talked and talked with lots of squeals and other over the top joyous sounds. When they finished speaking to each other, both of them put down the phone. Konata then picked up the phone again and proceeded to dial up Hiyori's number... providing Patricia didn't beat her to the chase.

…

…

*** * * * ***

…

…

Monday morning...

At the school entrance, Konata, Miyuki and the twins were about to walk inside, when Konata heard her name being called out by Patricia and Hiyori from behind. The Manga artist and the foreigner rushed over to the now stationary blunette, and they all joined hands together, dancing around in circles after doing so.

"That was the best one yet!" cheered Patricia.

"Mm-mm! Mm-mm!" Konata agreed with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"It was on again at two in the morning!" joined Hiyori, "I managed to record the whole thing on tape!"

"Woah! You have?! That's great!!" Konata and Patricia chimed together.

Miyuki and Tsukasa watched the whole 'prancing around in circles' thing with a nervous eyesmile. Kagami placed her hand on her hips and looked half bewildered, half angry. Were they not in the least bit embarrassed that they were receiving attention from every schoolgirl, boy and teacher?

"I don't know what's going on," said Kagami, "but can we please return to reality? We do have classes you know?"

After she said that, Konata, Patricia and Hiyori all turned around and faced the opposite direction. Their hands were clasped together in a prayer, and their eyes turned into sparkling, shiny stars (if this was an anime, their faces would be inches away from the camera).

"Oh Kagamin!" chorused the three (yes, even Patricia and Hiyori called her Kagamin), "You just don't understand the heart and soul of a beloved otaku!"

Kagami wilted a little. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing," she said, though in all actuality, Kagami secretly felt a little down for being left out of the loop.


	19. Process of Elimination

**Process of Elimination**

Today, Kagami and her class were baking cakes in the home economics classroom. Each student was given the choice to make either flapjacks or butterfly cakes. Kagami, Misao and Ayano all opted for making flapjacks, since they concluded flapjacks would be the easier of the two. After a while of preparing, mixing, swirling and baking, the girls each made half a dozen small flapjacks of their own creation.

The school lessons for today were over, but the home economics class were the last to finish, since they had to put away all the cooking apparatus, not to mention take back any leftover ingredients the students didn't use. During that time, Konata opened the door and entered the room. Unlike Tsukasa and Miyuki, who waited by the main school gates, Konata wasn't one for having saint-like patience. Besides, she was eager to see the masterpieces the three girls made.

"Hiya!" Konata greeted, "All finished yet?"

"Hey Konata," Kagami said whilst turning to face her. She was busy untying Misao's apron. "We're almost done."

All of a sudden, Ayano walked over to the blunette whilst holding a small tray. The small tray had three flapjacks displayed in a simple yet neat presentation. One flapjack had cherries inside and coconut flakes on top, the second had raisins inside and was glazed with all over with honey, and the third had vanilla frosting, along with hundreds and thousands sprinkled for that added decoration. All of them were of a rectangular shape, and were roughly about the same size.

"I have a challenge for you!" announced Ayano, pressing the tray just inches away from Konata's chin, "You have to sample each flapjack, and try to guess which of us made them!"

Konata's eyes narrowed into slits as she stroked her chin. An interesting challenge, she thought to herself. There was a still air in the classroom as the three girls watched Konata get ready for some sampling. Kagami, Misao and Ayano (who was still holding the tray) watched with anticipation.

Konata slowly picked up the flapjack on the left; the one with cherries and coconut flakes. She took a delicate bite out of it and chewed very carefully, as if sampling the duo flavours the dessert offered her. Her eyes lit up. It tasted like heaven. It was so light, so tasty and so moorish. The cherries were especially succulent, and the coconut made for a great secondary flavour. All in all it was perfect. Only a top class chef could rival such a creation. The three girls noted Konata's expression. It was obvious she enjoyed the first one, no doubt whatsoever. Konata savoured the taste for a moment, wiping the crumbs off her lips with her forefinger. She decided to say nothing for the time being, further increasing the suspense held by Kagami and her friends.

After finishing the first flapjack, Konata moved onto the one in the middle, flavoured with honey and raisin. Again, she took a delicate bite from it. Her eyes lit up for a second time. The honey made for a rich, tasty flavour, and the currants inside were like sparks of delight entering her mouth. The flapjack was a touch on the heavy side, but that was only Konata's opinion, for she preferred cakes of a lighter variety. Even so, it was still a very yummy treat, a nine out of ten at least. The three girls noted Konata's expression. It was obvious she liked the second flapjack as well.

Suddenly, bright balls of fire replaced Konata's eyes. She turned slightly to her right and, with a serious expression on her face, pointed to the uneaten flapjack with utmost authority.

"Kagamin made this one!!" Konata declared, the passion burning within her voice.

"Incredible!" gasped Ayano, impressed by Konata's prediction.

"She didn't even need to taste it!" said Misao with amazement.

Kagami lowered her head and clenched a fist with her right hand. Red veins were spouting all over her.

"It's times like this I want to thump her," Kagami growled.


	20. A Lost Boy

**A Lost Boy**

A cold wind grazed the night sky.

For anyone having the fortune of walking outside, all they had to do was stand still and admire the stars above. The weather was the only audible ambience, everything else was as solemn as could be.

Kagami and Tsukasa lived in this peaceful town. The town had everything they needed, and the shops that opened nearly all day were a godsend. When the twins were a lot younger, they also visited the playground after school. Kagami would try to beat her world record on the swings, and Tsukasa would repeatedly climb up and descend down the large slide. During the present time, whenever the twins walked back home, they would always catch a glimpse of the playground; the bright red swings, the slide, the multicoloured climbing frame and the sandpit, with a bucket and spade someone accidentally left behind. It was difficult for them to avert their eyes from such an attraction. After all, the playground was a huge part of their childhood life; memories which they would never forget.

However, for one boy, the playground was a memory best forgotten.

He had been sitting on the swings for some time, and hadn't moved from that spot. Though the air was quiet, the boy found himself shivering to the core. His white t-shirt, red shorts and navy trainers did nothing to repel the weather. He heard the faraway howl of a stray dog, the noise making him swallow a lump in his throat. He was afraid. He hated this place and he was afraid.

* * *

"Two bags of white rice?"

"Check."

"Turkey mince?"

"Check."

"Mixed frozen vegetables?"

"Check."

"Ketchup?"

Kagami stood still for a moment as she thoroughly checked inside her shopping bag. "Ketchup?" she asked in surprise.

Tsukasa faced her sister and gave her an eyesmile. "Just kidding!" she said, bringing out the cheeky side of her.

Kagami sagged her shoulders. "Don't worry me like that sis!"

"Sorry!" Tsukasa said, still smiling.

With their parents away on an outing, the Hiiragi twins had the responsibility of getting the groceries for tonight. The twins continued walking down the pathway, and their heads instinctively turned to the right. The playground still looked the same as it did all those years ago. That's what they liked about this town; some things changed, and some things remained the same. To make sure they wouldn't catch a cold, Kagami wore a pink t-shirt, a blue pair of jeans and a blue denim jacket, whereas Tsukasa wore matching jeans and a light blue woolly jumper. They also wore sporty looking white trainers.

Their feet stopped moving.

"Who's that?" asked Tsukasa.

Kagami paused for a moment. "No idea," she replied.

The twins looked at each other, appearing to be on the same wave length. The playground was only a dozen or so steps away, so they both jogged over to the swings to where the boy sat. Judging from his small height, he looked like he could be eight, maybe nine years old. The boy looked at the two girls, uncertain as to what they might do to him. Were they going to make fun of him? Laugh at his misfortune? Regardless, he felt scared, scared enough not to move.

"Hi kid, are you lost?" Kagami asked, trying her best to sound pleasant.

Unfortunately her body language made her appear too imposing, although Kagami didn't realise this at the time. The boy didn't react to her body language very well, and he clenched tightly on the chains.

Kagami frowned and tried another question. "So, um, do you have a name or something?"

He remained silent.

Tsukasa gently placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Let me talk to him," she whispered to Kagami.

Kagami took a small step back and allowed Tsukasa to handle the situation... but she doubted Tsukasa would fare any better. She thought it was pretty clear the boy didn't want to talk to anyone.

Tsukasa lowered herself to one knee, so she could make eye contact with him. The two features she immediately caught are his bright blue eyes and scruffy short beige hair. Judging from the tear stains on his cheeks, Tsukasa gathered the boy had been crying for a while.

"I'm Tsukasa, and the girl next to me is my twin sister, Kagami," Tsukasa introduced.

The boy looked at her with a mixture of surprise and worry. Why is she being so nice to me, he thought, she doesn't even know me. He lowered his head and found his feet to be the most interesting parts of his body.

"I'm Shiro," he mumbled.

Kagami felt surprised. _"Eh?! Why didn't he reply to me when I spoke to him?!"_

Tsukasa risked another question. "Are you lost?"

Still facing the ground, the boy weakly nodded.

"_I already asked him that!" _Kagami protested in thought.

Carefully, Tsukasa stretched out her hand to the boy known as Shiro.

"Would you like to come with us, so we can contact your family from our place?"

He looked at her and blinked. Why is she willing to do all this for somebody she doesn't even know? That thought stirred around his mind. His mother always said never talk to strangers... but she didn't seem like an ordinary stranger. Rather, she seemed... nice.

With a muddled expression, the boy weakly offered his hand. Tsukasa's hand felt really warm.

* * *

As the three made their way to the Hiiragi house, Shiro quietly explained to Tsukasa that he tried to impress his mother by taking the bus home. After realising he hopped into the wrong bus, Shiro had spent a long time walking around, trying to make light of the predicament he got himself into. At the moment he felt confused, tired and a little distressed. The twins were saddened after hearing his story. It must be terrible, not to mention frightening to wander into an unknown location.

The door was already unlocked, so Kagami had no trouble pushing it open. "We're home!" she called out, "Sorry we're late!"

Of course, before the twins (and Shiro) walked inside, Matsuri and Inori were the only girls in the house. They were both dressed casually, much like the twins.

Matsuri walked into the main room to greet them. "Hiya," she said, her hand covering her yawning mouth.

Matsuri's mind froze. Who on earth is that little guy doing sandwiched between the twins?! Shiro immediately felt nervous again, so he leaned closer towards Tsukasa for protection.

"Gee, I don't remember putting 'little kid' on the shopping list," Matsuri said, ruffling her short brown hair.

From the kitchen, Inori also walked into the room, and had now stood alongside Matsuri. She was getting the plates and cutlery ready for dinner.

"Hmm? What's going on? Who is this?" Inori asked, sounding polite but at the same time, concerned.

Matsuri placed her hands on her hips. "That's what I'd like to kn-"

"Look! He's lost, okay?!" Kagami interrupted, cutting off her older sister, "We found him alone in the playground and we couldn't just let him freeze to death! I mean, you two would do the same thing, right?!"

Shiro looked at Kagami with surprise. Why did she suddenly become all nice as well?

"It was my idea really!" added Tsukasa, her voice sounding almost as passionate, "I told him we would contact his family as soon as we got back!"

Inori placed a finger on her lips. "Well... I guess for the time being, we need to make our little guest feel at home," she concluded.

"What?! Come on Inori, you can't be serious!" Matsuri protested, "I mean it's hard enough babysitting Kagami!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Kagami retorted, "You're the one that needs babysitting, not me!"

"_Please stop arguing..." _thought Tsukasa.

"I-I'm Shiro," Shiro introduced, which in turn caused Kagami and Matsuri to cease their argument, "S-Shiro Masu."

The girls listened when Shiro told them the details of his address. It turned out Shiro lived further away than anyone hoped for. Muchfurther.

"Well then Shiro," Inori said, "Why don't you go upstairs with Kagami, so she can show you around the place? Meanwhile, Tsukasa, you get the bath ready and then help me with the cooking... and Matsuri, you see if you can get hold of their parents."

Tsukasa nodded straight away. She gently took away the shopping bag from Kagami, and placed it in the kitchen before returning to the main room. Having received the most unexciting task there was on offer, Matsuri sighed as she went to another room to look for the telephone directory.

Shiro stood there and place a finger on his lip. He had forgotten; was Kagami the cute one or the uppity one?

"Come on Shiro, what are you waiting for?" Kagami called out from the bottom of the stairs.

Shiro swallowed a lump in his throat.

"It's okay," Tsukasa said in a relaxing tone, "My sister won't bite your head off!"

Shiro nodded, smiled and followed Kagami upstairs. Kagami felt amazed from the confidence Tsukasa possessed. Where did the real Tsukasa go, and who is this android that replaced her?

* * *

"Well... here we are." Kagami said when the two of them stepped into her room, "It's a tad messy, but I wasn't really expecting guests."

Shiro looked around the room with amazement. In his opinion, it didn't look untidy at all; a few bits and pieces here and there, but hardly a major crisis. However, his eyes captured something that really did stand out; a tight pair of glossy pink-

"Ahem!" Kagami coughed, pressing her foot down to conceal that certain area. She dragged them underneath the bed with her feet, to stop Shiro's perverted little eyes from being fixated to that spot.

"I didn't see anything!" Shiro said frantically, waving his hands over his face.

"Whatever," Kagami muttered.

Kagami's room was certainly very pretty, Shiro thought to himself... but there were three things that caught his attention the most. First there were the comic books on the bookshelf. It wasn't a huge collection, but there were enough to hold ones attention for at least a week. Some of the books were action orientated, others were more of a romantic nature. That's odd, thought Shiro, he didn't know some girls were into action books as well. The other attractions stood out like a pair of sore thumbs; a PC which stood on top of a desk in the corner, and a Playstation 2 displayed near the north-most centre of the room. Neatly piled next to the console are a small selection of games; Tekken, a driving simulator, but mostly shoot 'em ups.

Shiro widened his eyes. He immediately recognised the game on top of the pile. It is titled Raiden Project, which essentially compiled the games Raiden 1 and 2 into one CD. Raiden 1 and 2 are retro styled vertical shooters where one controlled a spaceship to fight hordes of airborne and ground based enemies. For a moment, Shiro forgot about his troubles altogether.

"Woah! You have this game?!" he asked.

Kagami nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty hard to get, considering its rarity an' all. One of my friends persuaded me to get it... and I'm kinda glad I did."

Shiro continued looking at the case. He remembered the text, the art, even the screenshots at the back.

"My brother used to have this," he explained, "before he sold it to one of his friends."

Kagami closed her eyes. "You wanna game?" she asked.

Shiro's jaw hung open. He thought she would never ask.

Kagami set up the console and inserted the game. Raiden Project didn't take long to load up at all. Shiro hopped on the bed and waited with anticipation. Kagami selected to play Raiden 2, and then sat next to the quiet boy. Both of them had their controllers at the ready.

"I've never played the second one before," Shiro said. Kagami didn't reply as she got ready to play.

The game began and a wave of nostalgia engulfed him. The arcade styled music demanded his ears to listen; it blended into the game flawlessly. Kagami played the red ship and Shiro controlled the blue one. Shiro's eyes were so glued with fascination that he failed to acknowledge the first wave of enemies coming his way; a group of planes that flew in an easy-to-follow pattern. Luckily for him, Kagami swiftly took control of the situation as she blasted the bad guys away without breaking a sweat. Although it was only the first level, it didn't take long for the difficulty to pick up. A multitude of enemies had already filled the screen; tanks, missile buggies and menacing helicopters were already making their presence known. Having already lost two of his lives, Shiro tried to concentrate more so he wouldn't be a burden to the other player. Raiden 2 definitely had a steeper learning curve than its prequel, and played at a much faster pace as well.

As she played, Kagami tried to retain a neutral expression, but this proved difficult, for little Shiro had a tendency to steal all of the weapon power ups. It was like she did all the hard work and he took all the credit. Still, at least he was able to hold his own. She remembered playing this game with Misao and Tsukasa. It took Misao two minutes to figure out that 'x' enabled her to fire... whereas Tsukasa didn't enjoy all of the explosions the game made, so she played the game with her eyes closed. Thank goodness Shiro is better than those two. What's more, it certainly made a nice change for her to play a cooperative game rather than a competitive one.

After some progression, the two players encountered the first end of level boss; a giant four legged walker that unleashed rockets and lasers like they were going out of fashion. Having memorised its attack pattern, Kagami concentrated all of her fire-power into the mechanical monster, whilst all Shiro could do was dodge all the enemy projectiles. Kagami made short work of the boss, but to Shiro's surprise, _another _walker appeared, this one showing up from the left side of the screen. Its attack pattern also slightly differed from the first, so Shiro had to find a another method to dodge this beast as well. Fortunately Kagami had a few smart bombs saved up, so she reduced the second walker to rubble quicker than the first. Shiro truly fell in love with Kagami's no nonsense gameplay style. He didn't think girls could be so good at games.

Kagami's bedroom door opened. Kagami instinctively pressed the start button to pause the game.

"Shiro, your bath is ready!" Tsukasa stepped in and said.

"Oh, okay," replied Shiro. He forgot a bath was being prepared for him, and judging from her face, so did Kagami.

"Don't worry," Kagami said, smiling, "we'll continue this afterwards!"

"Cool!" Shiro said happily, before leaving the bedroom with Tsukasa.

Tsukasa gave her twin sister a brief but warm smile before closing the door.

"_Cool,"_ Kagami whispered to herself, _"what a boyish thing to say."_

* * *

Shiro slowly and nervously took off all his clothes and left them in a neat pile. It was perfectly alright for him to feel such nervousness. After all, he was now completely naked inside a house full of girls, and at such an age, who _wouldn't _feel embarrassed? He gave the bubble bath the tootsie check to see if it was too hot enough. The temperature was just right, and the bubbles were inviting.

A thought occurred Shiro when he sat into the bath; would he become a sissy for liking bubble baths? There is also this girly fragrance rising from the water. He better not tell his friends about this, otherwise they would call him Sissy Shiro all the way through to his adulthood.

The bathroom door opened and Tsukasa stepped in. Tsukasa tilted her head and made an eyesmile. "I'm just going to help Inori with the cooking! I'll join you in five minutes!"

With that, she walked away and closed the door before Shiro had a chance to reply.

Shiro twiddled his thumbs. Despite feeling warm and relaxed, there was not a lot one could do in a bath. When he was five, Shiro had a yellow rubber duck and a toy submarine to play with, but of course, he grew out of that phase by now. That's right, he thought to himself, he named the duck Cho-cho, a strange if somewhat funny...

...wait a second. Did she just say she would join him in five minutes... as in _join him _join him?!

Join him... as in... join him... in the bath?!

Shiro blushed profusely and looked as though his kittens were about to have kittens. He had never been in a bath with a girl before... well, he went in a few times with his mother, but he was a baby then! What's more, this cute girl, Tsukasa would be completely nude. Her pure, sacred body would be pressed gently against his back. There would be those... pink things attached to her... lighter pink things... not to mention... that thing between her legs.

"Okay! I'm ready!" Tsukasa called out before opening the door.

The moment Tsukasa stepped into the bathroom, Shiro reacted in a way Tsukasa never expected him to.

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! I'M NOT READY! I DON'T WANNA DO THIS! I'M NOT READY! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEEEAASE!! WAAAAGGGH!!!" Shiro shouted, flapping his arms and splashing water everywhere.

Tsukasa tilted her head and continued to watch Shiro's forever transforming expression. His beetroot face twisted and distorted into every type of shape imaginable.

"Don't you want me to wash your hair?" Tsukasa asked softly.

After hearing that, Shiro quickly regained his normal composure. Ooooh, so _that's _what she meant, he thought, the burden of unlimited weight releasing from his shoulders. Never had the boy felt so relieved in all his life.

"Oh... okay..." he replied, feeling a complete idiot from what he said before.

Even though the situation wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be, Shiro still felt embarrassed at having a girl wash his own hair. Tsukasa however, was very gentle with her hands. She used a sponge and just the right amount of shampoo. Shiro stared at the water as a faint redness appeared on his cheeks.

"_Tsukasa is such a nice person," _Shiro thought, slowly beginning to relax, _"she reminds me of my mother."_

* * *

After Shiro properly washed, dried and clothed himself, he watched an anime downstairs with the twins. The anime was about a boy who for some reason became a foreign teacher in a class full of girls, not to mention he can cast magic to boot. He found it rather funny, especially the part where the boy cast a spell to make a girl's breasts grow ten times her original size. Afterwards, he joined the four girls around the table for dinner. Matsuri, after many attempted phone calls, was successfully able to get hold of Shiro's mother. Matsuri told everyone that she would get there as quickly as possible. Everyone was relieved to hear that, although Shiro seemed to be having mixed thoughts. What would his mother think of him when they would meet? All this time she had been worried sick about him... he wouldn't be surprised if she never wanted to speak to him again.

Shiro looked around the table. Inori and Tsukasa were eating their food in a normal manner, whilst Matsuri and Kagami were having an argument over something really silly. It was totally the opposite of Shiro's family. Shiro's brother had developed this teenager hormone stage where he would take his food upstairs and listen to his really depressing music. This left only Shiro and his mother at the table, and they would eat their dinner as quietly as mice. He didn't know girls were capable of talking for such lengthy periods. Shiro stole a glimpse at Tsukasa who was sitting opposite him... but didn't look at her for too long in case she noticed. He then looked at the food in front of him; a ring of rice and vegetables with turkey mince in the middle. Using a spoon, he scooped up a small mouthful and ate it slowly. There was no doubt in his mind; it was really, really tasty.

Shiro had nearly finished his meal when the door bell rang. He felt an immediate chill all over. Inori promptly finished her mouthful before making her way to the main door. Shiro got out of his chair and followed her... and then the other girls followed suit as well.

Inori opened the door, and came face to face with Shiro's mother and her older brother. Shiro's mother is in her late thirties and is about as tall as Inori. She had long beige hair tied with a ponytail, and wore a jumper, a pair of jeans, ordinary shoes and large circular glasses. Shiro's brother is fifteen and is quite tall for his age. He had short, beige spiky hair, and judging from his choice of wardrobe, it looked as though he is going through an emo-gothic-zombie like phase.

With a cry of relief, Shiro's mother rushed over and embraced her younger son. Shiro's worry had been put to rest; his mother... is just so happy to see him safe and sound. Shiro's brother sighed through his nose. He is relieved having seen him at last, but there is no chance he would show his emotions. That would be, like, embarrassing.

"Thank you for looking after my Shiro!" mother thanked as she wiped away a tear, "I hope he wasn't a burden to you all!"

Inori shook her head. "Not at all! It was a pleasure, if anything!"

"He certainly made the place more interesting," remarked Matsuri, who rubbed the back of her head.

Kagami crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "Now don't do anything daft, okay?" she told Shiro, "You don't want your family getting worried again, do you?"

Shiro nodded. "I won't Kagami! I promise!"

Tsukasa suddenly remembered something. She rushed to the refrigerator, grabbed a plate of small cakes and put them inside a paper bag. She walked back to the main room and gave the bag to Shiro.

"For... me?" asked Shiro.

Tsukasa nodded. "Me and Kagami made these! We were going to have them for dessert, but I'd thought it would be better if you had them instead!"

"Th-thanks. That's really kind of you," Shiro said. The poor guy felt overwhelmed with all the kindness around him.

He bowed lowly, showing his utmost appreciation.

"Thank you for looking after me everyone! Thank you so much!"

With that, the Masu family turned around and left, with Shiro and his mother saying their goodbyes beforehand. His older brother placed a hand on top of Shiro's head and did nothing more.

* * *

Kagami walked up the stairs and into her bedroom, since she had some spare homework to sort out before tomorrow. She rearranged some of her school books on the bookshelf... before realising the television is still switched on. Oh yeah, she remembered, Shiro and herself were just about to start the second level of Raiden 2. The way the game paused when Kagami and Shiro were in mid-fire... it kind of saddened her a little.

* * *

Shiro and his brother are at the back of their mother's car. As she drove home, mother hummed a happy song to herself, delighted that things were finally back to normal.

Shiro took a bite out of a cherry flavoured cake. It tasted delicious!

"Hey bro! Want to try one?" he asked his brother.

His brother shrugged and picked a cake for himself. He looked at the cake; it is covered with vanilla frosting and had hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top. He took a bite out of it and savoured the flavour every time he chewed.

"Well? What do you think?" Shiro asked again.

Shiro's brother looked as though he had swallowed some rat poison.

* * *

**Author: **Shiro and his family are original characters I made specifically for this story.

I hope everyone continues to enjoy reading this collection of one shots. Thanks for the reviews.

~Rdz


	21. Bombergirl

**Bombergirl**

The room is a dark green colour, and is mostly filled with lots of metal blocks and brick blocks. The metal blocks are displayed in a sort of set pattern, whereas the brick blocks are scattered all over the place. In the four corners and centre of the room are five characters; all of them identical looking girls, with the exception of their hair style and hair colour. To the top left stood a girl with long blue hair, to the bottom left stood a girl with short yellow hair, to the top right stood a girl with long black hair, to the bottom right stood a girl with twin-tailed pink hair... and finally, in the centre stood a girl with short pink hair. All of the girls wore a summery sailor school outfit.

The girl in the centre watched in horror as the other girls all started to move. They all laid timer bombs and retreated out of the way, lest they become victims of their own explosions. The brick blocks were being destroyed by the explosions, one by one, whilst the metal blocks remained impervious to the blasts. The girl in the centre felt confused and scared. Explosions were going off everywhere. Brightly lit bonuses appeared beneath the brick blocks, causing her further bewilderment. She moved left... right... up... left again... in fact, it looked like she was doing a shaky sort of dance. In a state of panic, she dropped a bomb and managed to get herself trapped behind it. Her bomb went off and she was reduced into a pile of dust, putting her out of misery for good.

Meanwhile, the blue girl managed to uncover an unusual looking power up; a large pink egg with green spots. The egg started to crack and hatch when she approached it, and revealed to be a baby green dinosaur! He looked so cute! He even wore a diaper! The blue girl hopped onto the back of the dinosaur, and she could feel her speed increasing, thanks to her new reptilian friend.

The girl with black hair managed to hold her own. She picked up a few extra bomb bonuses, so she could at least stand a chance in battle. Unfortunately, the girl with twin-tails wasn't fairing as well. She took a chance by collecting a 'question mark' bonus... which ended up halving her normal speed, so she had to spend the rest of the game plodding at a snails pace.

Fortune was certainly on the side of the yellow girl, for she had accumulated a hefty stash of bonuses. As well as collecting the standard bonuses, like extra bomb and extra flame, she also grabbed a pair of roller-skates which gave her an immense boost of speed (the roller-skates literally appeared on the girl's feet). However, she stopped for a second when she uncovered an unusual looking bonus; a golden, glowing star. Had she seen something like this before? Trembling with excitement, she walked over it, wondering what amazing effects might take place. The room flashed in whiteness... and all the girl's school uniforms were now replaced with school swimsuits and cat ears! Ah yes, now she remembered! The golden star is the legendary ultra rare cosplay bonus! It didn't really do anything else, but it is still awesome enough to behold...

...especially for the black haired girl. She stopped dead in her tracks, still marvelling her change of wardrobe. Unfortunately, she forgot about the bomb she dropped which exploded under her feet.

Three girls were left in the room, and there were not many brick blocks left to destroy. The twin-tailed girl received another question mark bonus, which turned out to reduce her speed even further. Now, even a snail could run rings around her... and the timing could not have been worse... for the girl clad in roller skates launched an attack on her with a flurry of explosives. The twin-tailed girl didn't stand a shred of a chance.

The yellow girl did a fancy twirl and posed a victory stance... but completely forgot about the blue girl who ambushed her from behind. The blue girl managed to destroy her adversary by trapping her with a single bomb.

*** * * * ***

The amusement arcade has always been one of the highest sources of entertainment for students, perhaps even a necessity for the more game obsessed ones. The girls had various reactions after finishing one of the newer releases, 'Bombergirl'. For Konata and Patricia, they had played the game whenever they had the opportunity, so they were naturally accustomed to the bright graphics, the pumping sound track and the immensely fast game play. As for the Hiiragi twins and Hiyori, the game was a first time experience for the three of them. Naturally, the arcade machine is built large enough for five people to play.

Konata had a look of disappointment on her face. "You know... I was expecting more of a challenge..." she said with a sigh.

Patricia rubbed the back of her head and laughed. "Ha ha! I was too busy with my victory pose! I completely forgot you were playing as well!"

"I will never touch a question mark as long as I live," grumbled Kagami.

"_I didn't know what was going on..." _thought Tsukasa, feeling embarrassed.

The girls were about to explore more in the arcade when they noticed Hiyori hadn't moved since she finished playing.

"Hey, Hiyorin, you okay?" asked Konata.

Hiyori remained staring at the arcade machine. "We... we had swimsuits... and cat ears..."

"Ah, that was Patty, she collected the rare cosplay bonus!" Konata happily pointed out, "It gives all the players a completely different new outfit! I've heard from the net that there are twenty in total... let's see... me and Patty have seen the swimsuit one, the teddy bear one, the French maid one... um, I think that's all the ones we've seen..."

"Don't forget the space ranger one!" added Patricia.

"Oh yeah! There's a space ranger one too! So we've seen four outfits altogether!" concluded Konata.

"_Just how many times have they played this?" _thought Kagami.

Suddenly, inspiration kicked in Hiyori's crazy manga filled mind. The game gave her an idea. Minami. Yutaka. They were really aliens from outer space, which sounded kinda cliché, but that didn't matter. They had weird powers! Every twenty... no ten... no five minutes, their outfits would change into something completely random! There would be a scene where Yutaka trips and lands on top of Minami, and their clothes would then change into bikinis! Omigosh and there will be this cute animal character in there too becausenomangawouldbecompletewithoutacuteanimalcharacter... maybetheanimalcharactercouldchangeeveryfiveminutestoolikesayadinosaurorarabidfoxoraboxofcereal...

"WE MUST PLAY THIS GAME AGAIN!!" shouted Hiyori, who latched onto Konata and shook her back and forth like a rag doll, "I NEEDS MY INSPIRATION!!"

"Hey, Hiyorin, you're kind of hurting my shoulders," said a worried Konata.


	22. Whack a Mole

**Whack a Mole**

Tsukasa, by herself, gulped as she inserted a coin inside one of the whack a mole games. The other girls were busy amusing themselves in some other way; Kagami and Konata were playing a racing simulator, whereas Patricia and Hiyori had a go at the latest Dance Dance Revolution game. Tsukasa promised herself to try at least two games in the arcade, to conquer her fear of them, if anything else. The game resembled a 'stand up' arcade styled machine, except the screen only showed the player's score, and the controls are replaced with nine circular holes that are laid out in a 3x3 grid. The game is also Pokémon themed, so the ordinary moles are replaced with Digletts. The rules are straightforward enough; the player has to whack as many moles with a mallet in one minute.

She stood there, trembling, clenching a fluffy pink mallet with both of her tiny hands. At first glance, the layout appeared to be very easy, and should only prove challenging for children with little gaming experience... but this particular game showed a surprising amount of difficulty... and Tsukasa found this out the hard way.

The first mole popped out from the top right hole, and only remained there for half a second before disappearing again. When it appeared, it made this 'diglett dig' sound, like they did in the anime series.

"Waagh!" Tsukasa gasped. The poor girl didn't even have time to react, let alone attack the brown critter.

A second mole popped out, repeating the same sound as the previous one. This one appeared in the dead centre this time, and lasted the same amount of time before retreating back into its hole.

"Eep!" Tsukasa squeaked, closing her eyes and whacking a completely different hole.

Mole number three appeared from the top left. It was a little slower than the previous two, but Tsukasa still missed it by a mile.

"Aaaauuu!" she whimpered. She had a feeling the game was picking on her.

It was pretty obvious Tsukasa had delayed reactions playing this game, mostly due to the surprise she received each time a mole popped out of a hole. Her face changed into a deep shade of crimson, and her eyes now transformed into a single horizontal 'x'. She always missed the target by a second or two and, judging from the noises the Digletts made, they sounded like there were mocking her left, right and centre. Tsukasa so wanted the timer to reach zero.

Ten seconds were left on the clock. For a while, nothing happened. Tsukasa wondered if it was all over...

"DIGLETT DIG!! DIGLETT DIG!! DIG DIG DIGLET DIGLETT DIG!!"

...but instead, nine moles popped out from all of the holes, each of them making that inferno 'diglett dig' racket!

"EEEEEEK!!" Tsukasa shrieked.

In her state of panic, Tsukasa threw the mallet in the air... and then the mallet landed on her head. Fortunately, it didn't hurt her, for the mallet was lightweight and fluffy, but she still felt the need to rub her head nonetheless. Tsukasa looked at her score shown on the screen. It read: 'YOUR SCORE IS... ZERO' and underneath the score, it read: 'YOUR RATING IS... TERRIBAD'.

As she was about to walk away from the game, Tsukasa felt a presence. She turned full circle and found herself surrounded by guys; some her age, some a little older. They looked at her with utmost fascination... like she was some kind of angel. Or goddess.

"Wooaaahh! The way she played that game was sooo awesome!!" one of them said, not hiding his true emotions.

"Is this her first time in an arcade?" asked another.

"I wish I had a girlfriend like her!"

"I'd like to see her on Dance Dance Revolution!"

"This must be what heaven feels like..."

"Just watching her... it makes my life so meaningless!"

"She played so badly... yet... so beautifully!"

"I haven't cried like this for months!"

"I hope she isn't taken! I would hang myself if she is!"

"Is she one of those magical girls you see on telly?"

"I want to ask her out... but... I feel so unworthy!"

"She is the pokéball that has captured my heart!"

"Her candy floss hair and ocean filled eyes... she should be a character from one of those h-games!"

Tsukasa's eyes looked left and right, beads of sweat dripping down her face. Now there were _two_ things she really disliked in life; cosplay conventions and amusement arcades.


	23. The Crane Game

**The Crane Game**

Konata, Patricia and Hiyori stared intently at the large glass cuboid. Their eyes are practically hypnotised, for they are glued to all of the brightly coloured toys the crane game presented to them. The crane itself consisted of a red claw attached to a silver chain; its three fingers big enough to grab two, maybe three toys at once. This particular amusement arcade had five crane games in total, each one with a different design and structure than the last. The prizes in each crane game are also varied, but the girls found this particular one to be the most prize worthy of the five; rare collectables just screaming to be obtained.

On the top of the collection of toys are three dangos, like one would see in the Clannad series; one is white, one is green and the third one is pink, all of them roughly the size of a tennis ball. They looked so simple, yet so adorable. Konata rubbed her chin as her eyes became focused on the three toys. The dangos, cute as they were, would be quite tricky to acquire using the crane, thanks to their smooth, oval like exteriors. There is also this Haruhi figurine near the far right of the crane game, but that would be even harder to retrieve, for the figurine is inside a small, spherical, clear red capsule. Konata found herself in a predicament; would she go for a dango, or the figurine? Perhaps she could go for the lot, but that would surely burn a hole in her pocket.

Patricia's eyes are feasted upon a rather adorable Kyon doll, dressed fetchingly in a bright yellow tuxedo. The American loved this unusual combination, for she knew in real life (well... anime life) Kyon would never wear anything so dazzling unless Haruhi threatened him to do so. If she could aim the crane around his waist, then she would be sure to obtain this super rare combination.

Hiyori had to rub her eyes to make sure they were not deceiving her. The world she lived in was not a fantasy, for she spotted a plushie doll of a Bombergirl that looked exactly like Yutaka... _and _she had cat ears _and _wore a swimsuit! If she could get her hands on such a worthy doll then this would work wonders for her inspiration. She could just lookat the doll, any time, any place, and inspiration will simply come to her. She would miss this opportunity at her peril.

Konata, sandwiched between the other girls, turned to face Patricia. Patricia turned to face Konata. They both nodded slowly to each other. Konata then turned to face Hiyori. Hiyori turned to face Konata. They both nodded slowly to each other.

*** * * * ***

Konata, Patricia and Hiyori each slammed a pile of yen notes on the counter. The staff member behind the counter, a middle aged man wearing a red shirt and grey slacks, stared at the money with a wide eyed expression.

"You want to change all of this for coins?" he asked, surprised.

"No sir," Konata said, shaking her head. Patricia and Hiyori also shook their heads.

The three girls took a deep breath...

"We want to purchase that crane game over there!" they demanded in unison. Konata pointed at the mentioned crane game to amplify her statement.

The staff member was taken back by this. "Um... I'm sorry, but none of our games are for sale."

The girls immediately took a few steps back and huddled themselves together, as though they were forming some sort of plan. They then rushed outside for a few seconds... before returning to the counter wearing French maiden outfits.

"We will be your personal maids for a month!!" they pleaded together.

"I... think I'm going to have to ask the manager..." replied the staff member, as a large sweat drop appeared on the back on his head.

Just then, a young couple approached the crane game the girls were trying to make a deal with. Hiyori quickly rushed over to where the young couple were and blocked their path.

"NO! YOU CAN'T USE THIS!" Hiyori shouted, waving her arms around like a mental patient, "CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE MAKING A NEGOTIATION OVER HERE?!?"

Konata raised a fist in the air and cheered. "That's the spirit Hiyorin!!"

"Fight the power!!" Patricia joined in.

The staff member sighed. This was going to be a verylong day for him.


	24. The Love Simulator

**The Love Simulator**

It was hard to believe the girls have enjoyed themselves for over an hour (with the possible exception of Tsukasa), but with the immense selection of arcade games to play, time had simply sailed by. Kagami had to fend off hordes of fanboys in dread of some of them trying to touch Tsukasa with their ghastly, bony fingers. Tsukasa spent most of the time holding a fistful of cloth from her sister's back. How much longer did she have to stay in such a scary place?

Konata, Patricia and Hiyori have now joined together with the Hiiragi twins again. They sensibly decided to forfeit their proposal when the manager threatened to call security.

The five girls walked together as they explored the remainder of the amusement arcade. Konata had visited this place for so many times now that she remembered every single major and minor detail; the red tiled floor, the light rock'n'roll music playing in the background and of course, all the arcade machines, flashing patterns of brightly lit colours, as if each individual machine had its own sense of character. Some of the girls only had a few coins left to spend, so they had to choose their next game wisely if they wanted to play something else.

"Let's try this one!" beamed Konata, pointing to her chosen arcade machine.

The other girls stopped and stared at this machine; another stand up styled one, and its art consisted of a black background with lots of pink and red hearts scattered all over. Instead of the buttons and joystick however, the layout is instead replaced with lots of little square and rectangular keys, exactly like one would see on a keyboard.

"A love simulator?" Patricia asked. Her confused expression soon turned into a big wide smile. "That's a great idea!"

Kagami crossed her arms and stood her ground. "Yeah, except for the minor detail that there are no guys with us..."

Konata turned around to face no one in particular. "Well, there are plenty of guys around Kagamin, if you want to ask one of them..."

"Like I'm going to do that!" replied Kagami.

Patricia suddenly called out to a nearby teenager wearing a white cap. "Hey! You with the white cap! My friend needs a compatible man for this love simulator over here! You interested?"

As she turned to face Patricia, Kagami's face turned beet red as she clenched her hands and closed her eyes. "Don't just pick out random people you've never seen before!!" she bawled out.

Konata raised a finger in the air. "I know! How about me and Kagamin take on the simulator?"

"What?!" Kagami replied.

"Aw come on! It's just for fun!" Konata said, catlike smile activated.

Kagami sighed. "Alright... fine, but I still don't see the point."

After inserting a coin, Konata keyed in her name and pressed enter. There was then a huge list of personalities to choose from, all in alphabetical order. Konata had to choose at least three personalities before moving on.

"Well... if I were you, I'd select 'game obsessed', 'lazy' and... 'athletic' I guess..." Kagami said, shrugging.

Konata faced Kagami and batted her eyelashes. "Aww, Kagamin! You know me better than I do! Maybe we _are_ destined to be together!"

"Please don't do that," said Kagami. She hated the way Konata turned herself into a teen idol.

It was then Kagami's turn to enter her name and personalities.

"You should put down 'short-tempered', 'secretly caring' and 'apologetic'!" stated Konata.

"Why should I?!" argued Kagami, _"I'm none of those things!"_

"Well... you being short tempered is pretty self explanatory..." Patricia explained.

"...and you are secretly caring because of the way you always look after your sister, even though you never admit it..." Hiyori continued.

Konata finished off the explanation. "...and lastly, apologetic girl, when you bump into a stranger accidentally, you're all like 'omigosh I'm so sorry, are you okay, are you _sure_ you're okay'!" she said, mocking a blush much like Kagami would if she got caught up in such a situation.

"What! Gimme a break! I'm not those three things at all!" denied Kagami.

Tsukasa pressed her forefingers together. "Actually... that's a pretty accurate description of you, oneechan," she said quietly.

Kagami let out a defeated sigh. "Even my own sister has turned against me... alright! Fine! I'll select those three, even though they're all wrong!"

Once Kagami finished entering her options, a progress bar appeared on the bottom of the screen. It was very slowly being filled from left to right.

"Why is it taking so long?" asked Kagami, "I mean... there wasn't a lot of information to process, was there?"

"The machine is doing this on purpose." stated Konata, "Some love simulators do this, it's like to build up suspense between the two people."

"Oh, I see," said Kagami.

The bar reached its halfway point.

Konata rubbed the back of her head. "Heh heh... you know... maybe you're right. This is kind of silly."

Kagami grinned a little. "Well... like you said... it's just for fun, right?"

Konata nodded. "Yeah."

The bar filled up all the way. The screen was now replaced with two large numbers followed by a percentage sign.

"WHAT?!? NINETY FOUR PERCENT?!?" all five girls gasped loudly in disbelief.

Konata and Kagami looked like frozen statues.

Tsukasa stole a glance in Hiyori's direction. Fireworks are coming out of her hair.

"Um... guys..." Tsukasa said worryingly, "...fireworks are coming out of Hiyori-san's hair..."

"LET'S DO PATTY AND KONATA NEXT!!" demanded Hiyori, sounding extremely desperate, "NO! WAIT! EVEN BETTER! LET'S PAIR UP THE TWINS!!"

Kagami, after thawing out, started to speak in a nervous manner. "Ha ha! It has to be some sort of glitch! Yes! Definitely a glitch! I mean... I knew my personality wasn't those three things at all, right?"

Patricia completely ignored Kagami's excuse and found herself deep in thought. Three words sprung to her mind; 'cosplay', 'bride' and 'groom'.

"Perhaps we should all go home now..." Konata said, feeling a little bit embarrassed.


	25. Misunderstood

**Misunderstood**

Upon hearing the door bell, Sojiro rose from the sofa and rubbed his hands with glee. Since the fridge and the cupboards are almost void of food, Sojiro decided to order a takeaway for himself, Konata and Yutaka instead. Yutaka wanted a (very mild) vegetable curry, Konata wanted chicken teriyaki and Sojiro decided to have beef ramen. To round off the order, Sojiro also ordered two bottles of sake, because when the order surpassed a high enough total, this particular takeaway, for a limited time only, would also give the customer a free figurine of a random anime or computer game character. Sojiro loved the thought of adding another figurine to his collection, and the thrill of not knowing what it is further invigorated him.

Sojiro opened the main door and came face to face with a beautiful small woman carrying a full paper bag. Sojiro couldn't believe his eyes. She looked almost exactly like... his wife. She wore a white pullover, blue jeans and red trainers. Sojiro then examined her chocolaty brown eyes, ocean blue hair and innocent smile. The only trait that divided her and Kanata would be her hair length; for it is only shoulder length, not flowing down to her waist. Other than that, she had to be the perfect replica of Kanata. Sojiro thought, perhaps it could even be a reincarnation of her?

"Here's your order sir, that will be 5200 yen," the woman said, very politely.

Sojiro promptly fished the money out of his pocket before handing it to her. The tips of their fingers touched when the money was being exchanged.

"Ah... haha, you can keep the change!" Sojiro stuttered, as he handed her three 2000 yen notes.

The lady felt surprised by his kindness. "Ah, thank you very much!" she said with a small blush.

Sojiro rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Oh it's nothing really!"

The lady bowed before she returned to her car. "Enjoy your meal sir, and I hope you like playing with your free gift!"

"Thank you! I will!" said Sojiro, closing the door when the woman left.

Then a thought occurred to him.

"Wait! The figurine is for my daughter! Not me!" he shouted, but it was already too late.

*** * * * ***

Konata and Yutaka were watching the anime film, Spirited Away, sitting snugly on the living room sofa, patiently waiting for their takeaway. Sojiro arrived at last with the sacred paper bag in his hand.

"Okay, who wanted the veg curry?" he asked, showing a circular plastic container with the curry inside.

"Me!" chirped Yutaka, raising her hand up high.

"_Yutaka, this isn't play-school..." _thought Konata with a smile.

"And who wanted the chicken teriyaki?" Sojiro asked again, knowing it had to be Konata's choice.

"Me!" beamed Konata, also raising her hand up... and feeling kind of childish for repeating the actions of her cousin.

"I guess the ramen must be mine then!" said Sojiro with his fatherly grin.

As the family tucked into their takeaway, Sojiro, who was sitting close to the right armchair, turned away and secretly opened a small black box containing the free figurine. When he opened up the box, Sojiro let out a quiet groan. The figurine is the character Cloud from the Final Fantasy series. Great, he thought sarcastically, just what he wanted; a douche-bag guy to ruin his harem of figurines already in his bedroom. He decided Cloud is going straight back into the box... where he can suffocate to death and rot in hell.

After they finished eating their meals, one hour later, Yutaka fell asleep, so Sojiro gently picked her up and escorted her to bed before returning to watch the film. Poor Yutaka couldn't handle late nights very well, despite her will to keep herself awake.

Sojiro opened up a bottle of sake and carefully downed its contents. A good drink after a good meal; life surely couldn't get any better than this. Visions of Kanata, and the woman who resembled her entered his mind. His head was high up in the clouds. Maybe he should go out with her... perhaps even marry her, but would that be an act of betraying his wife? Maybe his wife would... somehow spiritually encourage him to marry again? Perhaps it was best to clear those thoughts... for the time being at least. Right now, at this moment, he felt happy. Really happy.

After finishing his second bottle, Sojiro stretched his arms far and wide. "Aaaah Konata... well, it's just you and me now," he said with an extended sigh.

"Yep," replied Konata, still watching the anime.

A short pause.

"Hey... Konata..." Sojiro asked slowly.

Konata turned slightly to face him. "Hmm?"

Sojiro unconsciously started to pat Konata's right leg.

"...how would you like to have a baby sister?"

Konata froze and turned white.


	26. There once was a girl named Kagamin

**There once was a girl named Kagamin**

There once was a girl named Kagamin,  
Who woke up after some yawning,  
She got out of bed,  
Slipped and fell on her head,  
What a way to start a Sunday morning.

She got ready and walked down the stairs,  
To the kitchen, for toast to prepare,  
But she waited too long,  
Thus it made quite a pong,  
And the toaster looked like a lit flare.

So instead she poured out cereal,  
Frosted Flakes and milk, for real,  
But she realised too late,  
The milk's out of date,  
And tasting it made her feel ill.

Then Inori walked over to greet her,  
She said, "Hey sis, good to see ya,  
"By the way, don't gurgle,  
"That milk, or you'll hurl!"  
Kagami thought, 'Yeah, thanks sister...'

She then went upstairs to study,  
The questions were quite hardy,  
But she did them just fine,  
And in two hours time,  
She played to stop being so grouchy.

She played on the Playstation 2,  
A starship fighter she flew,  
She did very well,  
Reached the final stage; Hell,  
Losing now would be a taboo.

But then her mobile rang,  
Which put her off, her ship went BANG!  
She had almost finished,  
But her luck had diminished,  
And her teeth looked as though they grew fangs.

She answered the phone, irritated,  
Her tsundere mode activated,  
She said, "Who is this?"  
With a snake like hiss,  
An answer she impatiently waited.

As expected, it was Konata,  
And she had something to ask her,  
Kami said, "Which sum?"  
Konna said, "Question one!"  
The blunette was such a bother...

Kagami switched off the phone,  
She sighed and then she groaned,  
She helped Konna again,  
Questions one through ten,  
She needed to vacate to Rome.

Then Tsukasa entered her room,  
Made her a sandwich; ham and mushroom,  
What a nice treat,  
After such a feat,  
It would be gobbled up any time soon.

But she was concerned about her weight,  
After that sandwich she ate,  
When she hopped on the scales,  
She felt like a whale,  
'Two pounds extra,' she thought, 'oh great'.

So she began to take off her clothes,  
To reduce that weight she loathed,  
But her father stepped in,  
Just as poor Kagamin,  
Took off her panties; the last of her wardrobe.

Dad closed the door and said 'SORRY',  
Whilst she replied, 'DON'T WORRY',  
Though she felt less-than-good,  
With her maidenhood,  
In front of a man, oh golly.

She then put her clothes back on,  
Whistling an embarrassing song,  
Imagine if it were,  
Konna's dad who spied on her,  
That would be, like, so wrong!

She then turned on her PC,  
Sitting down and waiting with glee,  
For the desktop screen,  
Showed Hwoarang wearing jeans,  
She thought, damn, he was so sexy!

Kagami played the RPG,  
With her friends, except Miyuki,  
She played Solitaire,  
Minesweeper and Pairs,  
But nothing online, you see.

The group ventured inside a cave,  
They fought succubi and their slaves,  
They had plenty of fun,  
When they eventually won,  
Was a good time to cheer and rave.

But Kagami then found this ring,  
After some major looting,  
The item was cursed!  
It couldn't be worse!  
It turned her into a goblin!

She was the laughing stock of the game,  
That stupid old ring was to blame,  
So the angry teen,  
Switched off the screen,  
Before she turned insane.

The rest of the day was normal,  
Dinner, then bed, just the usual,  
But she felt really bothered,  
From the Sunday she suffered,  
She wanted to go back to school.

But her mobile phone went a-bleeping,  
The moment she started sleeping,  
She turned it on from her bed,  
Was a text message, that read:  
'See you tomorrow, Gobbymin!!'


	27. Woooaaah

**Woooaaah**

She flopped onto the side of her bed as she wondered where that inferno racket was coming from. Oh, it must be my alarm clock, she thought to herself. Finding the energy in her right hand, she decided to switch off the alarm altogether, rather than press the button on top to activate the snooze delay. She hated those snooze delay buttons, why did they invent such a thing? It would only take another five minutes before it would make that same annoying noise again. What a pointless device, she thought. What a pointless... zzzZZZzzz....

…

..

.

"Konata! Wake up! You'll be late!" Sojiro called from downstairs.

"Hmmm? What's he talking about?" muttered Konata.

Her eyes suddenly turned wide when she looked at the alarm clock again.

"Aaa... Aaah!" she panicked.

It was amazing how much speed one could pick up when one was late for school. Konata got ready in two minutes flat. There was no time for breakfast; breakfast was the last thing on her mind. She dashed out of the main door, and as she ran, she hoped she would make it on time for the bus. Fortunately, the bus also arrived late, and Konata thanked her lucky stars as she hopped in.

As the bus made its usual journey, Kagami later joined Konata, but her twin sister wasn't accompanying her. When Konata asked why, Kagami explained about this influenza going around, and Tsukasa was one of the unfortunate people who caught this bug. Come to think of it, Miyuki wasn't here either, so Kagami gave her a quick ring to see what was going on. After some polite coughs from the other end, Kagami sighed and switched off her phone. It turned out Miyuki was also a victim of this influenza.

*** * * * ***

Konata and Kagami later departed from the bus, and after arriving at the station, waited patiently for the train to arrive. The train arrived a few minutes later than expected, but they didn't seem to mind all that much. When they walked inside, they were fortunate to find a spare seat to sit on. Time passed by, and neither of them said a word. It was certainly easier to start a conversation with more friends around. Konata only enjoyed teasing Kagami in front of Tsukasa, and it would only be a matter of time before Miyuki did something incredibly moé, like get her school bag trapped in between the doors. When it was just Konata and Kagami, the air around them felt somewhat... different.

After leaving the train, the two girls finally made their way to school... but stopped dead in their tracks when they heard schoolgirls and teachers screaming and running away. Fear began to drench Kagami's mind; did somebody get murdered in broad daylight? Are terrorists roaming around the area? No, she realised, it was much worse; a colossus, multicoloured octopus decided to block the main school entrance, breathing fire at anyone and anything that she considered a threat. The creature looked big enough to envelop the entire school itself.

"Wooaah..." said an intrigued Konata. She wasn't afraid in the least, rather, she was just really, really fascinated. It reminded her of one of those RPG bosses. One of those really weird RPG bosses.

"'Woah'?! Is that all you can say?!" replied Kagami, "Our school is under attack!"

Konata grinned. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"All the teachers could be burnt to a crisp!" said Kagami.

Konata continued grinning. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

Kagami sighed and closed her eyes. "Well... it looks like I have to stop this monster myself..."

Konata faced Kagami and gave her a puzzled expression. The blunette watched as Kagami whipped out her mobile phone and began keying in some sort of combination. After some button pressing, Kagami started to levitate and her clothes were being consumed by a glowing whiteness. Kagami had her eyes gently shut. She found herself spinning slowly in mid-air, void of clothes, pure as the day she was born. A trail of golden glowing stars concealed the vital parts of her womanly figure.

"Woooaaaah..." said Konata. Fascination simply wouldn't cut it; the blunette felt completely awestruck.

Konata watched as Kagami had undergone an incredible and mesmerising transformation. With a combination of music and over-the-top special effects, a new magical wardrobe replaced her standard school attire, and her hair changed into a vivid blue-green. Kagami wore a silvery top, a tie which matched her hair colour, a pair of shoulder-less black sleeves, a short black skirt, long black stockings and delicate black shoes. The rims of her skirt, her sleeves and her stockings were also a blue-green colour. Finally, Kagami wielded a magical white staff with feathered wings in the middle and a pink heart on top. She had officially transformed into Super Magical Girl Kagamin.

"WOOOAAAAH!!" Konata shouted. This had to be the single most greatest experience she ever bared witness to in all her life.

"Yeah, this is my hidden identity," Kagami coolly stated, "I am in fact a magical girl from the planet... HEY! What are you doing with my wand?!"

"I wonder what this button does..." wondered Konata as she pressed a button on the wand.

A giant missile shot out from the tip of the magical staff, and it moved around randomly before flying off into the distance. Seconds later, the sky flashed white, and a sound equivalent of a nuclear explosion could be heard.

Konata rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Oops! My bad," she apologised.

Kagami sagged her shoulders. "There goes my reputation," she groaned.

Before Konata caused more mayhem, Kagami snatched the wand away from her and pointed it towards the evil octopus. The octopus turned her attention towards the magical girl.

"_**Ka... Kaga... Kagamin... powers of snacking, studying and shoot 'em ups... thwart thy enemy with the strength you have given me since birth..."**_ the magical girl chanted.

"_Wooaah... she's unlocking her true powers..." _thought Konata.

"_**...WHITE LIGHTNING OF GLORIOUS LOVE!!"**_

Konata looked amazed when a crackling white stream of lightning fired from the wand, as it collided with the deadly octopus flame-thrower. Good and evil struck into a dazzling display of red and white. After much effort, Kagami finally found the will to press forward her attack. The white lightning triumphed over the fire, and the octopus exploded into a million pieces.

"WOAH! You did it, Super Magical Girl Kagamin!" cheered Konata.

"Justice is served," Kagami said after a sigh of relief, "well, except for the thousands who perished..."

Konata waved it off like it was no big deal. "Ah, Kagamin, you always worry about the minor details!"

*** * * * ***

Konata flopped onto the side of her bed, wondering what that inferno racket was coming from. With her right hand, she decided to switch off the alarm together, rather than press the button on top to activate the snooze delay. She hated that snooze delay button, why did they invent such a thing? It would only take another five minutes before it would make that annoying noise again...

…

..

.

"Konata! Wake up! You'll be late!" Sojiro called from downstairs.

"Hmmm?" muttered Konata.

Her eyes turned wide when she looked at the alarm clock again.

"Aaa... Aaah!" she panicked.

*** * * * ***

…

…

_..._

"So let me get this straight..." said Nanako, when Konata arrived nearly an hour late for class, "...your excuse is you thought you were late, but you got on the bus on time, so you weren't late, but when you arrived at school, you were attacked by a multicoloured octopus, and Kagami had to turn into this magical girl to save the day... but then you woke up _again_, for real this time, and this time you missed the bus, which is why you ended up being so late for class?"

Konata nodded twice in rapid succession.

"And Kagamin had blue hair!" she added excitedly.

* * *

**Author: **Made a few minor updates for a couple of previous stories.

Story 8 (Piano): Fixed Cherry's 'gender' so to speak (the dog is a 'she', not a 'he').

Story 24 (Love Simulator): Toned down Kagami's character a little.

Thanks for reading!

~Rdz


	28. Three Wishes

**Three Wishes**

After the early lessons of school, Konata and the gang were seated in their usual spots in the cafeteria as they began to chat about various subjects. First they talked about their lessons, but that quickly grew tiring for the otaku, so she talked about her utterly nonsensical dream instead... and then after a while, she talked about computer games. This subject led to her favourite online role playing game, which Konata then talked about a special magical staff that can cast a spell called 'limited wish'. Apparently, it was an ultra rare weapon and only four existed in the entire game. After much discussion whether the weapon was real or just a hoax, Konata then altered the conversation a bit and decided to talk about another subject. Tsukasa and Miyuki were quite talkative up to the computer game part, then they just sort of lost track and kept mostly to themselves... but they perked up a little when the word 'wishes' was mentioned.

"So..." Konata said, tapping on her chin a couple of times, "...Kagamin, if you had three wishes, and could ask for anything in the world, what would they be?"

Kagami gave the question some thought.

"I wouldn't wish for anything," she said with all honesty, "I'd likely use the wrong wording, and end up getting something completely different to what I originally wanted in the first place."

The girls didn't seem too surprised with her answer, for Kagami was normally the more 'down to earth' girl of the four.

"What a realistic statement," said Miyuki and Tsukasa nodded in agreement.

Konata turned into guru mode as she tried to decipher Kagami's answer. "Ah! I think I can relate to that!"

Kagami's face became slightly sour. "You can?"

Konata nodded. "I was playing this role playing game and this genie granted me a wish! Naturally, I could only choose from a prearranged list, so I decided to ask for my party to earn extra experience. The genie then chuckled and said 'Fight well and experience you shall earn.' Then, to my horror, a large group of golems appeared and starting slaughtering my whole party!"

"How awful!" gasped Tsukasa.

"I know!" agreed Konata, "And my last save point was about an hour ago!"

"_Is this conversation taking another U-turn?" _thought Kagami.

"So anyway, Tsukasa, what would your three wishes be?" Konata asked the other twin.

"Let's see..." said Tsukasa, her eyes staring at the ceiling, "I guess I would ask for good health, good happiness... and another three wishes!" she replied with an eyesmile.

"Ugh, so cliché," groaned Konata, causing Tsukasa to reply with a surprised 'Eh?!'

"Well what would you ask for?" Kagami asked Konata.

Konata placed a finger on her lips for a few seconds. "Hmm... I would like to travel back and forward in time, so I can acquire complete Manga and card collections without waiting for them to be released!"

Kagami pictured a certain scene in her mind. At a busy Manga store, a thug points a gun at the owner (who is behind the till at the time) and demands him to hand over all of the money. Everyone else has either ran away in blind panic, or lowered themselves to their knees, begging not to be shot. Then, out of nowhere, Konata appears out of the blue, no doubt freaking out everyone who has bared witness to her sudden appearance. However, Konata completely ignores the ambience around herself and grabs a super rare limited edition of a Haruhi comic book. With the sacred Manga in her hand, Konata would casually make her way to the till, say to the owner, 'here you go mister storekeeper!' whilst giving him the exact change... and then just disappear back in time again, not taking a blind bit of notice of the thug wielding the gun.

"_Figures. She would use her powers not to protect the world from villainy, but for her own hobbies instead," _thought Kagami.

"Secondly..." Konata continued, "...hmm... maybe I should have my bedroom extended as well..."

"_You would only quickly fill it up with more of your stuff," _thought Kagami, _"and what a completely different contrast from your first wish."_

"and my last wish..." Konata concluded, "...my last wish... would be to have a spiritual conversation with okaasan..."

The twins and Miyuki showed Konata a sympathetic smile.

"...so I can ask her why she married him in the first place."

The twins and Miyuki sweat dropped. So harsh, they thought at the same time.

"What would you wish for Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked the pink haired girl.

Konata and Kagami, who were sitting opposite Miyuki at the time, leaned forward a little and tried to predict what she was going to say. Konata predicted that one of her wishes would be 'world peace', whereas Kagami predicted one of her wishes would be to make her less clumsy (as opposed to not making her clumsy at all). Little did they know that underneath the table, Miyuki's hands were clenched rather tightly.

"Indestructible teeth that never ache!" Miyuki answered with passion.

The others gasped at her response.

"Wh-what about your second wish?" asked Konata, feeling a little on edge.

Miyuki thought about the second wish, her eyes still filled with seriousness.

"For every tube of toothpaste in the world to be strawberry flavoured!" she answered, with more passion then before.

The others gasped again.

"And... and your third wish?" asked Kagami.

The three girls watched Miyuki as she placed her right fist into her left open hand.

"To make sure the first wish works!!" she answered, almost as though her life depended on it.

"Incredible!" gasped Tsukasa.

"Amazing!" said a very surprised Kagami.

Konata clutched her heart with both hands. The blunette found it really difficult to breathe.

Kagami took one quick look at Konata and sighed. "Let me guess, overwhelmed with 'moé'?" she asked.

Unable to speak, Konata nodded rapidly in reply.


	29. Milk, or lack thereof

**Milk, or lack thereof**

It was a typical weekday morning in the Iwasaki household. Minami's mother was busy washing up some leftover plates from yesterday's meal, and loveable Cherry took a snooze in the corner of the main room. It wasn't before long when Minami herself walked down the stairs in her usual quiet manner. She stepped into the kitchen and, after exchanging greetings with her mother, slowly opened the fridge door. She narrowed her eyes and carefully examined everything inside. There was everything one would expect to see in a fridge; assorted frozen vegetables, jars filled with sauces, cartons of juice and some leftover meals, all arranged neatly on every shelf. Inside the fridge door contained the more perishable products, such as eggs, butter, cheese, yoghurt and...

"Okaasan, where's the milk?" Minami asked.

Mother finished off cleaning the final plate as she replied. "Sorry dear, I'm afraid we're all out."

Minami instantly felt her throat seizing up. According to school legend, drinking milk at least once a day was supposed to help increase the size of one's breasts. After hearing this, Minami took heed to this legend and started to drink at least one pint every morning, afternoon and evening... and that was excluding the milk she used for cereal, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

"Are you sure?" Minami asked again. She knew there was no milk in the fridge door, or anywhere in the kitchen, but there was no harm in asking, just in case Minami's mother would say, 'Oh look! I found some secret milk in a secret compartment!'

"I'll buy some in the shops for the evening!" said mother.

Minami took slow, deep breaths.

"Okay," she said at last, though the temporary absence of milk would still leave a scar inside of her. She examined the fridge door again and reached for a pot of cherry flavoured yoghurt for breakfast. At least yoghurt is a dairy product, she thought to herself, it wasn't milk, but it used milk as an ingredient, so it was somewhat of an adequate substitute. Anyway, there was no use crying over spilt... never mind.

*** * * * ***

After her light breakfast, Minami bid her mother and Cherry goodbye before leaving home. She opened the main gates... and spotted a milk-van speed through the road. Deep breaths, she thought to herself, that wasn't a milk-van, that was a... cabbage-van. Yes, a van... that stores... cabbages.

Minami continued walking along her usual, predetermined pathway, trying her best to throw that image of the cabbage-van away. On the pathway opposite her, she spotted a black cat slurping away at a milk puddle near to a couple of trash cans. The cat had successfully scavenged a discarded old carton, which contained just enough milk to satisfy her taste buds. As Minami watched her, the cat looked at the girl with piercing green eyes and hissed, as if she was saying, 'you want this milk, well come and get it, flat chest'.

Not properly paying attention, Minami then gently bumped into a pram. Minami couldn't help but notice the baby inside the pram; he had a tuft of light brown hair and wore blue clothes, which suggested he had to be a boy. He wasn't making any fuss or bother, for he was busy sucking on a baby's bottle... full of milk. Minami then glanced up to the person pushing the pram; a dark haired mother in her twenties who had a really, _really_ huge chest. It was almost as if she were head-locking two bald headed men underneath her blouse. That had to be the most luckiest baby on the planet, Minami thought to herself.

Minami side stepped to the right and made an apologetic bow to the young lady before continuing her increasingly strenuous journey. It had only been the start of the morning, and already she felt like the day was over.

*** * * * ***

Despite her altered behaviour, Minami managed to get to school on time. She still studied hard in her lessons, and was still capable of helping out her classmate Yutaka when she was stuck, but Minami lacked the focus and energy to push herself that little bit further. There were a couple of times when the teacher even asked Minami if she was okay or not. Of course, Minami had enough common sense not to tell him the truth.

Time seemed to have crawled at a snail's pace. How long was it going to take before the lesson would be over? How long would it be until Minami would rush into the cafeteria, approach the drinks machine, and purchase a plastic bottle of milk she oh so desperately craved for?

…

Minami never realised how loud the hands on the clock were. Today, their sound seemed to be amplified, engulfing her ears with those deep, unsettling ticks.

…

The teacher droned on and on. For some reason, his voice was so deep and slow. Minami tried so hard to understand what he was talking about, but today, she just couldn't make out a single word he said.

…

At last, the school bell rang for first break, and Minami shot out of the classroom like a dart.

*** * * * ***

No matter how fast she ran, there were always at least a handful of students who made it to the drinks machine before she did. As Minami waited behind the queue, more people began to appear behind her. Finally, she managed to reach the drinks machine. She popped a coin inside its slot and pressed the buttons 'B' and '4', which is the correct code if anyone wanted to buy milk. The word 'ERROR' appeared on the display screen, followed by an abrupt bleeping sound which emitted from the machine itself.

"Huh?" said a puzzled Minami. The last time she received an error message from a drinks machine was... no, wait, she _never _received an error message from a drinks machine.

She tried pressing the buttons again, but received the same negative result. People in the queue were wondering why this green haired girl was taking so long. Minami tilted her head and looked at the drinks behind the thick glass; B1... a small carton of orange juice, B2... a small carton of apple juice, B3... a narrow sized carton of prune juice, B4...

B4...

There were no drinks displayed in the B4 section, or to put it accurately, there were no milk bottles where there should have been milk bottles.

Minami's eyes widened to a considerable degree as her head shot backwards in utmost surprise. This sudden action caused her to collide backwards into another student, which in turn caused that student to fall backwards into the third student in line, and so on. It was like somebody flicking one domino onto a column of fifteen others.

"S-Sorry!" Minami turned around and apologised, sounding quite frantic when she spoke. Most of the queued up students were now in a dazed heap.

She turned around again and looked at the choices. Her finger hesitated. None of the choices looked remotely pleasing...

*** * * * ***

With the less-than-sacred drink in her hands, Minami walked in between the rows of tables as she looked for the table where her friends were sitting. As she did this however, three girls from another class walked in the opposite direction. The first two girls seemed like ordinary, happy go lucky people; average height, medium sized breasts, one had brown hair and the other had black hair. The girl on the right though was of a different league altogether. This fair-haired girl is only three quarters of Minami's height, but her breast size is a D! Not an A, not a B, not even a C... but a D size. _**D**_.

Minami tried to look the other way, but the image of that balloon clad girl was now burnt into her mind. She couldn't help but feel a slight hint of jealously.

When Minami joined her classmates at their favourite table, Patricia, sitting opposite Minami, peeped above her food and looked at the quiet girl slurping away on her newly purchased drink; a thin, purple carton with a green straw poked through it.

"Hmmm? What are you drinking, Minami-san?" asked the American.

"Prune juice," replied Minami, little emphasis on the words 'prune' and 'juice'.

"Don't you normally drink... y'know, milk?" Patricia asked again.

"They were out of stock," Minami told her.

"Aw, that's too bad," Patricia said, "luckily for me, my breasts are just about the right size, so I don't need to drink milk all the time! Actually, come to think of it (*****feel***** *****feel*****) they might be getting bigger!"

"_You're not helping the situation..." _thought Minami.

"Um... Minami-chan," Yutaka said, who is sitting next to Minami, "um, I have a bottle of milkshake... and I don't mind if you want to sh-share some with me."

Yutaka's nervous choice of words immediately took Hiyori's attention away from the can of lemonade she was drinking. Hiyori, sitting opposite the frail girl, stopped herself from mid-slurp, her eyes focusing partially on Minami, and partially on Yutaka.

Minami contemplated her friend's generous proposal, whereas Hiyori... started to tremble. Patricia wondered why her dark haired friend was getting so excited.

Yutaka gave the bottle a little shake... but realised it was empty. "Aaaah sorry!" she said, "I must have drunk this last week, and forgot to take it out of my bag!"

"That's okay, thanks for your concern," replied Minami.

With what sounded like a surrendered sigh, Hiyori returned to drinking her lemonade.

*** * * * ***

The rest of the school day was slow, painful and somewhat torturous for one Minami Iwasaki. As she opened the main door to her house, one thing warmed the depths of her thoughts; a nice hot cup of milk tea.

"I'm home," Minami said. She walked over to her pet dog and knelt down to stroke her head. Cherry was certainly in a lazy mood today (more so than usual), for the dog hadn't moved much since Minami left.

"Welcome back!" Minami's mother greeted.

Minami smiled slightly when her mother offered her a cup of tea... but her smile quickly turned into a curious 'huh?' expression when she looked at the contents. It was a deep, rich black colour... void of a certain added ingredient.

"I'm really sorry Minami, but would you believe I checked every local store, and none of them had any milk?" mother said, "It's almost like some kind of conspiracy, don't you think?"

Minami's jaw locked open as her hair overshadowed her eyes. The background that supposed to have consisted of the main room... was now instantly replaced with a black screen with a single strike of lightning flashing from the top right.

To add to the drama, her skin also turned into a much paler colour.

No milk... in _any_ of the convenience stores?

Deep breaths... deep... breaths...

"Okay..." Minami said, and left it as that.

As mother began to prepare some dinner, Minami took a small sip out of her cup of milk-less tea. As she expected, the taste just wasn't the same.

*** * * * ***

After dinner and some studying, Minami decided to sleep in her bedroom early. A few hours into her sleep... she had a nightmare. She was strapped in her bed with thick rope, and all of her classmates were surrounding her, laughing sinisterly at her misfortune. Everything, except for the bed and the girls, was black. Yutaka, Patricia and Hiyori all looked at Minami with their hair overshadowing their eyes. They each wore these long, dark cloaks that would make even the grim reaper envious. Then... they each pulled out a large carton of milk... and began downing their drinks in the most malicious way imaginable. Milk was streaming down from the corners of their lips. The second they emptied their cartons, their breasts immediately started to grow... and grow... until they all had extra large beach balls attached to their chests. Even Yutaka's breasts were almost as big as her entire body!

"Hey! Haven't you heard guys? There's this new club at school," Patricia told the other two, her voice sounding really creepy, "but only girls with giant breasts are allowed!"

"Don't worry! I'm sure we'll all be invited!" Hiyori said darkly.

"Except... for Minami that is..." Yutaka hissed in cruel delight.

Beads of sweat continuously ran through Minami's face as she watched her friends laugh out loud. Their laughter echoed into her ears. She tried to struggle free, but the ropes were tied ever so tightly around her. There was no escape. Minami started to drown in her own misery.

*** * * * ***

The following morning, Minami walked down the stairs feeling completely drained of energy. Even Cherry looked at Minami and thought 'wow, she looks completely drained of energy'. Minami said her usual greetings to her mother (sounding even more quiet than before), had some breakfast (buttered toast, because their was no yoghurt left either), got ready and made her way outside.

*** * * * ***

In the classroom, the air around Minami felt even heavier than it did yesterday. Somehow, she managed to find the will to sit up on her own seat, but concentrating on the teacher's lectures was an entirely different matter. Her right hand would unconsciously scribble notes down... only, they wouldn't be actual 'notes', they would be numerous drawings of milk; cartons of milk, bottles of milk, even puddles of milk were sketched onto paper.

…

At last the school bell rang for first break again, but Minami didn't speed off this time. She wanted to, but lacked the leg strength to do so. Instead she plodded her way onward, as though the whole world was on top of her shoulders.

*** * * * ***

Minami looked like she had seen the face of death when she found out the drinks machine was still out of milk. Why was fate being so cruel to her? What did she do to deserve this unruly punishment? Defeated, Minami decided to buy some prune juice again. Prune juice. Yummy.

However... when Minami joined her classmates on their favourite table, Yutaka promptly offered her a bottle of strawberry flavoured milkshake, catching the green haired girl off guard. What's more, this bottle was far from empty; if Minami had to do some estimation, it looked like it was about three quarters full.

"Um... would you like some?" Yutaka asked, a rosy blush forming on her face, "I've already had some of it, so... um... I won't be thirsty."

Hiyori suddenly stopped drinking her can of orangeade and focused on the situation in front of her.

"... ...okay, yes please," replied Minami, though her mind was screaming, 'milk, milk, want, milk, yes'.

As Minami delicately took the bottle away from Yutaka's hands, Hiyori, ever so slowly put down her can, her eyes still fixated on this once in a lifetime scene.

Minami parted her lips slightly and pulled the milkshake closer to her mouth. Her lower lip just barely touched the rim of the bottle. At that second, Hiyori immediately rose to her feet and pointed to Minami, like she was the goddess of all goddesses.

"HOOOAAARRGGHH!!! INDIRECT KISS!!!" Hiyori shouted at the top of her voice.

As well as making the other girls shriek, the sudden loudness of Hiyori's voice caused Minami to throw the bottle vertically into the air. When it landed back on the table, milkshake had spilt everywhere.


	30. Fearless

**Fearless**

It had just gone four in the afternoon, but the humid weather still managed to attract a number of unsavoury insects. Some of these insects chose to venture inside the Izumi household, especially the ones known as... the mosquitoes; arch enemies of one Konata Izumi. Fortunately, the blunette came well prepared for such a situation. In her left hand was her enchanted sickle (a flyswatter), and in her right hand was her trusty +1 dagger (another flyswatter, though slightly shorter than the other one). She also wore her rare Leather Armour of the Kuma (t-shirt with panda face), Padded Thighs of the Unicorn (shorts), Boots of Dexterity (socks) and her newly acquired Bandanna of Mana Focusing (a red tie she borrowed from Sojiro, which she tied around her head).

Yes. Konata Izumi was ready. Ready for anything.

After exiting her bedroom, Konata first dashed into the bathroom. She stopped suddenly and scouted her surroundings. The toilet seat was clear... there was nothing lurking in the top corner... aha! A single mosquito remained motionless on the centre of the mirror. Konata made sure it would permanently stay motionless. One splat with one of her weapons... and the threat was no more.

"You disappoint me... I was expecting more of a challenge..." Konata whispered seriously, as an imaginary wind blew her hair wildly to the east.

She then rushed downstairs into the living room, where Yutaka and Sojiro were sitting next to each other on the couch. Yutaka was watching a PG rated anime on the telly, whilst Sojiro was midway through reading today's newspaper. Her poor, unaware family; they were too preoccupied with their idle distractions, thus... their levels of mosquito detection were reduced to a minimum.

Konata, however, managed to find another mosquito. This one had the nerve to rest on the armchair near to Yutaka. Konata whacked it without a second thought, which in turn caused Yutaka to jump out of her skin.

"Have no fear little one," Konata whispered again, "no creatures shall pester you this day."

Yutaka retained her composure. "Ah, thank you Warrior Konata!" she said with an eyesmile.

But the warrior did not stick around long; she located another mosquito, stationary on the wall to her right. It tried to fly away, but the impact of the flyswatter forced it back into the wall with amplified strength. Konata looked up; a fourth mosquito was positioned on the ceiling. Konata moved a few steps until she was directly below where the mosquito rested. She then leapt with the grace of a unicorn, and in mid-leap killed the insect with one swipe.

"Are there no opponents worthy of fighting me?" challenged Konata, still possessing that cool and quiet voice.

Encounter number five flew into the living room from an open window. Konata wasted no time in charging towards the threat. She raised her hand up high, ready to add another kill to her collection.

…

…

…

...

"WAAAGH!! HORNET!! HORNET!!" Konata wailed. She dropped both of her weapons and ran to her father, flapping her arms around like a distressed turkey.

The Izumi household exploded into pandemonium; Sojiro dropped the newspaper and rose to his feet in fright, and Yutaka, perhaps the more scared of the three, leapt off the couch and scampered to hide behind Sojiro's right leg. Konata quickly joined her younger cousin as she hid behind her father's vacant leg... and the two of them desperately needed protection from their guardian, their man of the house. Meanwhile, the hornet hovered around the centre of the room, piercing green eyes staring viciously at the pack of quivering lambs. Its low buzzing song of doom was a sound most nerve-wrecking.

Sojiro took a deep breath, and was made brave by the fact that he had to protect those beloved girls of his. He slowly rolled up his sleeves, and tried his best to stand up to this aerial threat. He then remembered something; inside the top drawer in the kitchen was a can of insect spray.

"Stay where you are girls, and don't make any sudden movements!" he told the girls.

"Don't leave us here!" Konata and Yutaka pleaded.

"I'll be back in two seconds!" Sojiro promised.

He took a few weary steps away from the hornet... and then dashed into the kitchen. Luckily for him, the hornet didn't want to give chase just yet. Sojiro searched frantically for the blasted thing after pulling open the top shelf.

"Please hurry!" whimpered Konata, "It looks like it wants to eat me!"

"I've got it!" replied Sojiro, feeling much more heroic than he did before.

Sojiro rushed back into the living room, essential utility in hand. Thank goodness the girls were still alive, he thought with relief.

"Now prepare yourself, vile one!" Sojiro said victoriously, "For I, Sojiro the Alchemist, shall destroy thee with my deadly flask of insecticide!"

Konata and Yutaka watched in hope as Sojiro pointed the spray can a few inches away from the hornet. With force, he pressed the top down.

_(sssss..)._

The can was empty.

"RETREAT!!" Sojiro shouted.

The three wailing warriors ran all the way upstairs to Konata's bedroom, and Konata swiftly closed the door once they were all inside. They all hoped, prayed, that the hornet would fly out of that window any time soon.


	31. Ringtones

**Ringtones**

Ayano felt a sense of relief when she found a spare seat on the train, rare as they were on a weekday morning. The transport was filled up within minutes, crowded together with a whole variety of people; although businessmen and school students were the higher ratio between the rest. Normally, Ayano's childhood friend, Misao, would be accompanying her on the journey to school, but last night, Misao informed her (from her mobile phone) that she would play 'hooky' today because she had a lot of homework and school projects to catch up on. Somehow, it just wasn't the same without the brown haired girl around; Misao would always talk for the sake of conversation, which at times can be annoying, but Ayano knew she meant no harm.

As the train continued its standard stop-and-go routine, more and more people crammed themselves inside, and it didn't take long before Ayano found herself sitting close to three complete strangers; one sitting opposite her, one sitting next to her, and one sitting to the top-right of her (Ayano herself was seated close to one of the windows). Opposite of Ayano was a businessman in his late thirties. He wore a dark grey suit with a matching tie and white shirt, and he was currently reading the sport section on his newspaper. Next to Ayano was a smiling middle-aged woman who had only recently entered the train. The lady stood as still as a statue, but was content enough with just holding her handbag on her lap. Lastly, the person top-right of Ayano was another schoolgirl around her age, though her uniform was coloured a little differently. The girl was listening to some hardcore trance music on her mp3 player, and she had the volume on fairly loudly.

To pass the time, the tangerine haired girl smiled relaxingly as she started to read a light novel, one which Kagami had lent to her last week. She wasn't really an avid fan of Manga, but light novels... seemed to have piqued some kind of interest; some of them were surprisingly well detailed, and others derailed from the original series altogether. Regardless, they certainly made for an exciting read.

Ayano suddenly sat up and widely opened her eyes when she heard the ringtone of somebody's phone go off. The ringtone belonged to the girl listening to the mp3 player. At first the girl thought her player was acting up, but then she realised she could hear two songs instead of one. The ringtone was the introductory song to the anime, Ranma, and this intervening with hardcore trance made one for chaotic mishmash of music. Boy was that girl flustered; she managed to tangle up her head phones in a state of panic, and felt really embarrassed for having complete strangers listen in on her anime based ringtone. Finally she managed to find her phone (it was inside her jacket pocket all along) and began chatting to her pal on the receiving end. Ayano made a confused eyesmile as she continued reading her novel. She thought, if people get so embarrassed over their own ringtone, why have that particular ringtone in the first place? Why not just choose a regular ringtone, so you won't feel so humiliated once it goes off?

After the girl's short conversation, she managed to reassemble her headphones and was back to listening to her music. Once again, the sound of the train, and the noticeable trace of hardcore trance were the only two noises that reached Ayano's ears. Ayano delicately turned another leaf in her book; she was about a quarter into it now, and although it was still character building, things did start to get interesting. Already she wondered what kind of twist the author was going to give her at the end.

Another ringtone went off, causing Ayano to promptly jump out of her skin. A series of trumpets and other brass instruments blasted out of the woman's handbag, as though a miniature brass band were playing inside. What's more, the woman didn't seem to acknowledge her own ringtone until eight seconds later. At last she plucked it out of her hand bag (to which her husband was on the other end) and started to talk for a while before putting away the phone again. Ayano blushed a light shade of pink; what amazed her was that the woman didn't feel embarrassed in the least. If Ayano's phone went off, and she had that kind of ringtone, she would feel the need to apologise to everyone around her after finishing her call.

With a tiny sigh, Ayano eventually returned to her light novel. It wouldn't be too long before the train arrived at her desired destination.

Suddenly, a giant series of... farting sounds emitted from the businessman, causing Ayano to flush a deep colour of red. It was only sooner had she realised this chorus of breaking wind were in fact sounds coming out of his phone. This unorthodox (and unsettling) ringtone nearly made Ayano squeak in shock. The others around him however, were completely nonchalant, as if they were used to hearing farting sounds from ringtones. The man waited about five seconds before putting away his newspaper to pick up the phone from his shirt pocket.

"Hello...?" he answered.

"AKITO!!" came a (somewhat strong) male voice from the other end.

"HONDA!!" the businessman shouted back, his voice causing Ayano to flinch.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready when you are!"

Ayano at this stage seemed more interested in the conversation then she was with her light novel... or... to put it in a more clearer perspective, she had no choice but to be interested, since the businessman was speaking so damn loud.

"Picky people pick Peter Pan Peanut-Butter, 'tis the peanut-butter picky people pick!" said the voice from the other end.

"Picky people pick Peter Pan Peanut-Butter, 'tis the peanut-butter picky people pick!" repeated the businessman.

Okaaay, Ayano thought, it obviously sounded like a tongue twister challenge...

"Picky-people-pick-Peter-Pan-Peanut-Butter-'tis-the-peanut-butter-picky-people-pick!" said a faster voice from the other end.

"Picky-people-pick-Peter-Pan-Peanut-Butter-'tis-the-peanut-butter-picky-people-pick!" repeated the businessman, matching the speed.

...and she thought Misao was a tad on the eccentric side.

"Picky-people-pick-Peter-Pan-Peanut-Butter-'tis-the-peanut-butter-picky-people-pick!!"

"PickypeoplepickPeterPeanut-"

"AHA!! YOU LOSE!!" the other end shouted in triumph. "YOU OWE ME A SODA!"

The businessman laughed in defeat. "Haha! I guess I do!"

"Heh heh..."

"Ha..."

"I'll see you later."

"'kay..."

The businessman put his phone away.

Even though the man paid no attention towards Ayano, Ayano looked at the man with a bewildered look on her face. She would feel _deeply_ ashamed of herself if she spoke like that aloud and in public. Eventually... she returned to reading her book once again.

After a short while, Ayano then heard a ringtone all too familiar; it was the sound coming out of her own mobile phone. Unlike the other ringtones she heard, Ayano's was completely normal; just a few repeated telephone-like rings, and nothing more. She had it inside her left skirt pocket, so she could retrieve it without hassle should somebody ring her up. She placed a bookmarker in between the pages before gently closing the novel. She then picked up her phone and answered the call. Her mother was on the other end.

"Hello okaasan, what's wrong?" Ayano asked.

"Hi dear, I don't want to worry you, but you left your sports uniform in your room," her mother replied, "I'm driving around your area in a moment, so I can send it to you if you like."

"We don't have P.E. today," Ayano stated.

"You don't? Oh, I didn't realise! Sorry to have bothered you sweetie!"

"That's okay, thanks for calling anyway!"

"Bye for now!"

"Bye okaasan!"

Ayano put away her phone and resumed reading her novel.

"What a lousy ringtone," the middle-aged woman muttered to herself.

"Eh?!" gasped Ayano.


	32. Sausage Octopi

**Sausage Octopi**

At the school cafeteria, Kagami removed the lid from her bento, eager to eat whatever delicious contents awaited her inside. Last night, she was so busy studying that she forgot to prepare her lunch in advance, but Tsukasa was more than willing to prepare lunch for the both of them. After all, the younger twin did enjoy herself when it came to cooking and food presentation. Naturally, their bentos mirrored each others; fried eggs, assorted vegetables, small squared sandwiches and sausage octopi (two each) were displayed in such an equal and elaborate arrangement.

When Miyuki removed her lid, her bento was also laid out very elegantly, although she admitted her mother did help her out on more than one occasion. Her bento is divided into three parts; one half with white rice and a green olive, one quarter with mini vegetable pancakes, and another quarter with circular slices of ham and turkey.

And it didn't take a genius to figure out what Konata was eating.

"Wow, they look so cute!" Miyuki praised, admiring the octopi made by Tsukasa, "I especially like the way you used sweetcorn for their eyes!"

"Ah, thank you!" replied Tsukasa, blushing and smiling. "They take a little time to create, but I think the effort is worth it in the end!"

"Occasionally, I have a go at making them myself," Miyuki continued to say. She then softly placed a hand on her cheek and made an eyesmile, "but I find it too difficult to divide them into eight legs; I always cut one or two off by mistake!"

"How do you make them so they have eight legs?" mused Konata, "Do you have to use some kind of special tool?"

"Ah!" Tsukasa and Miyuki said at the same time.

With their mouths locked open, they both waited to see who would speak first.

"Go on Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa told Miyuki, "You're better at explaining things than I am!"

"No, I insist, you go!" Miyuki replied, refusing the torch so to speak, "Besides, you enjoy cooking more than I do, so it only seems fair!"

Tsukasa made a polite cough before her explanation. "First, you need to use a sharp boning knife, because any other knife would prove too cumbersome. With the boning knife, you proceed to carefully slice the sausage in half, but be sure to leave it connected by about one or two inches. Then, you need to roll the sausage ninety degrees before repeating the procedure; slicing it lengthways in half, but not forgetting to leave an inch or two at the end. This will now give the octopus four legs!"

Tsukasa took a deep breath before continuing.

"Thirdly, you must cut each of the four legs in half, which of course will split them in two, and giving the octopus a total of eight legs! For finishing touches, you can place the octopus in a microwave on low for about thirty seconds, and thanks to the heat it generates, the legs will become all curly!"

"I see," said Konata, nodding, though admittedly, she didn't catch _all _of Tsukasa's explanation. Watching numerous slice-of-life animes, it was not uncommon to see a sausage octopus or two when a character opened up his or her bento, but after hearing the instructions on how to make one, she seemed intrigued on having a go herself.

It was then Miyuki's turn to add substance to the conversation. "When I was six, okaasan made me pasta with octopi for dinner. I was reluctant to eat them at first, because they looked so real!"

Tsukasa gasped in delight. "I didn't even think about using them for a proper meal! I guess you could also use them for western meals as well, like bangers and mash!"

"Or sausages and fries!" added Miyuki, "They should be included in restaurants under the children section. I'm sure youngsters will enjoy an octopus or two with their meal!"

"I wouldn't mind trying one of those meals myself!" chimed Tsukasa, "Although... I would feel kind of embarrassed eating it!"

"Me too!" agreed Miyuki, and the two of them started to giggle.

"Well... they're nice and all," said Kagami, "but I don't really see much point in them to be honest. I mean, I can understand them for spreads and such, but for lunches, I think non-octopus sausages suit me just as fine."

Tsukasa's face faltered a little, whereas Konata placed a fist inside of her hand whilst looking really serious.

"Ah! I totally get what you are saying Kagamin!" agreed the blunette.

Kagami raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

Konata nodded. "Because if you replace two sausage octopi with two ordinary sausages, that means you can fit one extra sausage inside your bento! Quantity over quality!"

Miyuki made a slightly nervous eyesmile as she spoke. "Well... that is true; due to the way their legs are spread out, they do tend to make more room than ordinary ones!"

Kagami narrowed her eyes as she spoke to Konata. "No, that wasn't what I was referring to at all. Furthermore, can you stop making fun of me whilst retaining that serious expression on your face?"

"Well... I can stop making them for you, if that's what you want..." Tsukasa said quietly.

"Um, sorry to be so blunt about it," Kagami apologised, "but... I dunno, I guess I just kind of... grew out of them?"

"Ah! I totally get what you are saying Kagamin!" agreed the blunette, repeating her fist-in-hand motion whilst still retaining her serious face, "After all, octopi are a thing of the past! Pocky is the way of the future!"

"Enough with the serious face making!!" Kagami shouted, causing Miyuki and Tsukasa to make a nervous eyesmile._"Pocky... Pocky are just different, okay?"_

...

*** * * * ***

...

Inside the Hiiragi household, and later on in the evening, Tsukasa prepared two bentos for tomorrow because Kagami was caught up in her studying again. Again, Tsukasa didn't mind in the least. In fact, it was the least she could do since her older sister has been helping her out with most of her studying.

"_Oh yeah, just normal sausages for oneechan," _she thought, remembering what Kagami told her earlier.

…

*** * * * ***

_(Tomorrow...)_

At the school cafeteria, Kagami removed the lid from her bento, eager to eat whatever delicious contents awaited her inside. Kagami and Tsukasa were the only ones sitting at the table; Konata was inside the ladies bathroom and Miyuki was waiting in the queue to purchase a (non fizzy) drink from the machine.

This time, Kagami's twin sausages were completely ordinary; no silly octopus shapes with silly eyes, just good, standard wholesome meat. Grabbing her chopsticks, Kagami proceeded to clutch one of them, but as she grabbed it, her hand just sort of... ceased moving. She released the hold, allowing the sausage to slip back into the box. Tsukasa quickly noticed the reserved air her sister emitted.

"Oneechan? Are you okay?" Tsukasa asked.

"Mm! I'm fine!" Kagami quickly replied, as she faced her sister whilst faking a smile.

Kagami took another look at her bento, her octopus-sausage-less bento. She tightened her lips... and slowly... sheepishly looked at her sister. Tsukasa, carrying her chopsticks, was about to take a bite out of one of her sausage octopi, when she noticed Kagami was looking at her. With a tilt of the head followed by an eyesmile, Tsukasa offered one of her octopi to Kagami. Kagami looked down at the table and blushed... before using her own chopsticks to prepare the exchange; one octopus sausage and one ordinary sausage per bento.

The twins smiled at each other before they began to tuck into their food.

Suddenly, Konata's big fat cat face appeared out of the blue; slowly ascending from underneath the table, and in between where Kagami and Tsukasa are sitting.

"Sooo precious..." she remarked, in a lovey-dovey voice.

The twins froze and felt a surge of embarrassed electricity travel throughout their bodies.

-

**Author: **I've revisited most of the older chapters so they now include Japanese honorifics, and I'm going to make it every future chapter will have honorifics as well. Thanks for all the feedback everyone.


	33. Ball Girl

**Author:** I just want to say I apologise to anyone who read the story previously on chapter 33 before I replaced it with this one. I sincerely hope it won't happen again.

~Rdz

-

**Ball Girl**

Since it was such a glorious day outside, Minami and Cherry decided to play together in the garden. Well, Minami decided to play, Cherry only tagged along because of some gentle encouragement from the green haired girl. Minami held a pink rubber ball in her right hand, and Cherry wondered why she was carrying such a round looking object.

"Fetch the ball Cherry!" said Minami, with a hint of enthusiasm to try and get the dog excited.

Cherry tilted her head slightly to the right.

"Hey-up!" came the sound of Minami's voice, as she lobbed the ball lightly in the air.

The ball bounced twice on the grass before rolling into a small bush. Cherry barely made any reaction at all.

Disappointed at Cherry's lack of movement, Minami jogged over to the bush to retrieve the ball. Cherry simply turned around and was now wondering why Minami was looking so animated.

"Come on Cherry! Fetch the ball!" Minami told cherry, getting ready to throw the ball again.

Again, Cherry's movements only consisted of tilting her head, and nothing more.

"Hey-up!" said Minami, as she lightly hurled the ball in another direction.

Cherry shuffled herself so she could catch a glimpse of the ball rolling over to the flowerbed. However, like before, she made no effort to fetch it. With a sigh, Minami jogged over to the flowerbed to pick up the ball. It was time to initiate Plan B. This time, she would attempt to throw the ball directly to Cherry, in the slightest hope that the dog will catch it in her mouth before it hit the ground.

"Get ready Cherry!" Minami said.

Cherry stared at the girl, not quite sure what she was going to do next. Maybe it involved something else with that pink circle thing, the dog thought to herself.

"Ready Cherry?"

Still not much of a reaction.

"Catch!"

Minami lobbed the ball... and it landed with a light 'bonk' on Cherry's head. Cherry started to whine as she trotted her way back inside the house.

"Sorry Cherry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Minami called out, as she jogged after her.

*** * * * ***

Later on in the day, Minami and her mother were midway through eating their meals together in the living room. Minami quietly sighed when she finished another mouthful of food.

"Okaasan?" Minami asked.

"Hmm? What's wrong dear?" her mother said.

"Do you think Cherry is... depressed?"

"Depressed? No, of course not... at least I don't think so," mother told her, "Cherry-chan just behaves... differently to other dogs, but I'm sure she gets excited in her own little way!"

Minami nodded as she acknowledged her mother's reasoning. Even so, as she stole a glance at the sleeping dog, Minami couldn't help but feel concern for her.

*** * * * ***

After thanking her mother for the supper, Minami spent the next couple of hours finishing off some leftover homework that had to be completed for tomorrow. For the time being, she left the pink ball on the top left corner of her desk. Minami was just about to finish when she heard her mother call out her name from downstairs.

"Minami-chan! Phone call for you!"

"Coming!"

Minami jogged down the stairs and picked up the house phone. Hiyori was on the other end.

"Hey Iwasaki-senpai!" said Hiyori.

"Hello Hiyori-san, are you okay?" asked Minami.

"I'm fine, but I was wondering, did we get any mathematics homework this week? I can't remember."

"Mm, we did, we have to do the simultaneous equations on pages forty-five through to fifty-two."

"Ah! I completely forgot about that! Thanks a lot! See you tomorrow!"

"Mm. See you later."

Minami put down the phone and made her way back to her bedroom again. A few minutes later and she was just one answer away from finishing.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and a light bulb briefly appeared above her head. She pulled out the drawer underneath her desk and picked up a black felt-tip pen from an assortment of stationery and other items inside. With her free hand she took the pink ball and began to carefully draw a face on it; two dots for eyes, a small circle for a nose and a straight line for a mouth. When that simple task was complete, Minami then drew a pair of circular spectacles over the eyes.

Minami examined the ball for a moment. Something was missing...

Rummaging through her trouser pockets, Minami found an unused tissue. She laid it out on the desk and began to colour it in with her pen. This took a while to do, but when it was done, the tissue had now turned completely black. Minami then examined the drawer again. In the top right she found a strip of blue tac. Perfect, she thought, blue tac was just what she needed.

*** * * * ***

Fortunately for Minami, Cherry had some energy left for this evening, so with some extra encouragement, Minami managed to get her outside again. The sky had changed into a navy colour, and a cold, crispy wind travelled throughout the sky. Minami acquired the ball from her coat pocket, now complete with face, glasses... and long black tissue hair.

"Okay Cherry! Get ready to catch the ball!" she said.

Cherry looked up to see why Minami dragged her out for a second time. As soon as Cherry's eyes met the altered ball, a tiny spark appeared on the corner of her head; the ball immediately had her undivided attention.

"Ready Cherry?" Minami asked, "Then... catch!"

Minami lobbed the ball in the air, and much to Minami's amazement, Cherry leapt and caught it in one swift bite!

"Cherry! You... you did it! Good girl!" Minami praised, surprised her unique plan actually came to fruition!

Minami was about to tell her mother the exciting news... but then... Cherry decided to gallop an unpredictable warpath all over the garden, trampling most of the flowers on the flower bed, and still clutching the ball in her mouth. For a short period of time, Minami remained speechless; she never knew Cherry was even capable of such speed. The big dog then ceased her movement, spat out the ball, and proceeded to dig an extra large hole.

"No! Wait Cherry! Don't bury it!" Minami called out, as she jogged after her beloved pet dog.


	34. Knowledge is Konata

**Knowledge is Konata**

It was lunchtime at the school cafeteria. Hiyori, Patricia and Konata were all sitting around one of the tables closer to the corner of the room. Konata was the last to finish her lunch as she wiped the chocolate coronet crumbs off her lips.

"...sooo...? Is that the _best_ you two can come up with?" asked Konata, feeling a sense of victory as she grinned her catlike grin.

"Hang on! We're still thinking of more!" Hiyori quickly replied, waving her hands over her face.

For the best part of five minutes, Patricia rested her thumb underneath her chin and repeatedly tapped her forefinger on her lips. After spinning her world of thought, the sandy blonde haired girl snapped her fingers.

"Got one!" Patricia chirped, "Name all of the ghost pokémon! In numerical reverse order!"

"_That's way too easy for her," _mused Hiyori, _"Izumi-senpai's knowledge of pokémon is phenomenal!"_

Konata inhaled a short breath of air before firing off each pokémon with pinpoint accuracy. "Giratina! Rotom! Froslass! Dusknoir! Spiritomb! Mismagius! Drifblim! Drifloon! Dusclops! Duskull! Banette! Shuppet! Sableye! Shedinja! Misdreavus! Gengar! Haunter and Gastly!"

"Zero hesitation..." said Patricia and Hiyori, their words little more than exhaled gasps.

Konata smiled in satisfaction as she placed her hands on her hips. "You should know better than to test me in my home field, Patty!"

However, Konata had little time to bask in her own glory, for Hiyori had another challenge ready.

"Alright, I got one!" said the dōjinshi artist, "Ready?"

Konata nodded, loving the anticipation of whatever task was going to be thrown at her.

"Okay, name the Negima characters that appear on the spine of the Manga covers, in numerical order, volumes one to twenty!"

Konata was deep in thought for a moment. This challenge certainly caught her off guard; she was expecting another Haruhi test, or a flavour of Full Metal Panic. However, this did not unhinge her, for Konata placed a fist in her hand, and started to call out each volume, one by one.

"Right!" she began to say, "Volumes one and two are Asuna, three is Evangeline, four Nodoka, five Yue, six Setsuna, seven... Makie, eight Kotaro, nine Satomi, ten Kaede, eleven Chisame, twelve Kazumi..."

The blunette took a little breather.

"Need a drink?" offered Patricia, pushing a can half full of lemonade to her side.

Konata accepted the drink almost instantly and took a swig out of it. "Aaah, refreshing! Thanks Patty, now where was I?"

"Volume thirteen," said Hiyori.

"Right, thirteen... thirteen is Negi, fourteen is Ako, fifteen and sixteen are both Negi, seventeen is Akira, eighteen is Negi, nineteen is Asuna... and twenty... twenty is Negi again!"

"Superb!" remarked Patricia, who then turned to face Hiyori. "Um... that is right, isn't it?"

Hiyori nodded. "It sure is; I re-read most of them last night, so I know all of the covers by heart as well."

Konata grinned as she kept her winning streak going.

"Name all of the characters and cards used in Card Captor Sakura! Including the movies!" Patricia said abruptly, almost in a demanding sort of way.

Hiyori's throat seized a little in surprise. "Woah! Time out! That's overboard!" she told Patricia.

Patricia rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Ah... ha ha... well, sorry! I guess I got carried away!" she apologised.

Incredibly, Konata remained stationary and did not utter a single word.

"_She's not protesting..." _the two girls thought with worry.

"Patty, buy me a drink please," Konata quietly told Patricia, sliding a coin in her direction.

"Yes, Brigand Chief!" replied Patricia, making a quick salute before dashing off to the drinks machine.

Konata and Hiyori waited patiently for Patricia to come back. A few minutes later and the mentioned girl arrived with a can of orange juice. Konata accepted the can with a nod, and Patricia returned to her seat. The small girl took a tiny sip from her newly acquired drink. Then... she began...

"Sakura, Syaoran, Cerberus, Yukito, Tomoyo, Clow Reed, Toya, Fujitaka..."

As they continued listening to her, Hiyori and Patricia slowly opened their mouths wider and wider. After half a minute, Konata had listed every major and minor character available in the show... and she only paused for a quick drink before moving onto the cards...

"...Windy, Fly, Shadow, Watery, Jump, Rain, Wood, Dark, Light, Sword, Shield..."

The younger otakus wondered if Konata was a girl or a machine. Time passed by, and Konata only had a few left to go... which was just as well because the girl looked exhausted.

"...Twins... Maze... Earthy... and... and Dream."

"Woaah... what you just did was... indescribable," applauded Hiyori, "I shall never doubt your vast knowledge ever again!"

Konata grinned before talking. "Heh, I must admit, I was surprised myself! It has been a while since I watched the show!"

Patricia finally broke her silence; she leaned towards Konata and clutched her tiny hands.

"Marry me!" she cried out, causing more than a few heads to turn around.

...

*** * * * ***

...

After their lunch break, the girls returned to their respective classrooms. Konata, along with Miyuki, Tsukasa and the rest of her class, were being taught World History by their teacher, Nanako.

"Izumi, stand up please," Nanako told Konata.

Konata stood up from her seat.

"Can you name me three of the seven wonders of the Ancient World?"

Konata closed her eyes and placed a finger on top of her triangle-like mouth. Nanako waited patiently for an answer, but so far, did not receive one.

"Is this a trick question, Sensei?" Konata had the nerve of asking.

Nanako shook her head. "No, this is not a trick question."

"Oh... ...um... ...hmm..."

One by one, tiny yellow question marks were starting to appear above Konata's head. Nanako sweat-dropped as she continued to watch the girl's befuddled expression of a face.

"_Hey, we were only talking about this yesterday," _the blonde teacher thought to herself.

-

**Author: **That's all from me this year. Hope everyone enjoys their Christmas, and I'll see you in 2010!

~Rdz


	35. Profusion of a Hundred Flames!

**Profusion of a Hundred Flames!**

Misao sat on her bed as she frantically jabbed away on the DS with her stylus. She was currently playing the game, 'Cooking Mama' but unsurprisingly, she wasn't doing very well. Obtaining the 'Don't worry, mama will help you fix it' result when it came to making instant ramen was a feat only Misao could achieve. After failing miserably at every other recipe she attempted, Misao quickly grew fed up with the game and looked around for something else to pass the time with. She switched off the DS and placed it on top of her work desk.

Misao grinned, and it looked as though her amber eyes had a distinct shine to them when she raised the corners from her lips. She rolled onto the left side of her bed, and retrieved her mobile phone that was currently resting face down on the pillow. On the options menu, Misao selected the friends list, which showed, from top to bottom, four different names she used fairly frequently; mother, father, 'Hiiragi' and 'YanoYano'. The brown haired girl wasted no time in selecting the forth name.

*** * * * ***

With all her homework complete, Ayano spent most of the evening reading a fanfic from her computer. She was pleasantly surprised at the length and quality the author had presented, and she felt more than willing to leave him or her a review before moving onto the next chapter. Suddenly, her mobile phone rang, and this time the ringtone consisted of a jazzy piano sequence, rather than the ordinary one she had before. Ayano didn't want people thinking she was some kind of 'vanilla girl'.

Ayano widened her eyes in surprise when she heard her ringtone... but when she realised who was on the other end, the tangerine haired girl let out a simple sigh. She picked up her phone and pressed the call button.

"Passionate love!! Profusion of a hundred flames!!" Misao cried out, possessing the same amount of excitement as a vibrant child.

"Um... what are you talking about Misao?" questioned Ayano. As far as Misao's random outbursts were concerned, this one ranked... well actually it ranked somewhere in the middle, but it still begged an answer.

"It's a game! You have to ring someone else and deliver them the same message, or else you will receive bad luck for the rest of the month!" Misao explained.

With her free hand, Ayano gently covered her mouth and started to giggle. "Okay! I'll pass the message on! Um... what was it again?"

"Passionate love! Profusion of a hundred flames!" repeated Misao.

"Okay!" concluded Ayano, and after saying goodbye, she cancelled the phone call, silencing her childhood friend.

*** * * * ***

A rogue memory crept inside Kagami's head as she found herself being overwhelmed by enemy aircraft. She managed to get through to level three of 'Raiden 2', but now the difficulty curve took an even sharper turn, forcing the girl to increase her reactions to a higher degree.

"_It only seems like yesterday I was playing this with Shiro," _Kagami mused as she finally succumbed to the numerous waves of enemy fire; two lives remained next to her high score.

Kagami suddenly felt a vibration from her right pocket. After pausing the game, she retrieved her phone... and felt slightly surprised to hear Ayano's voice on the other end.

"Passionate love! Profusion of a hundred flames!" Ayano said, her voice lacking the same fire Misao possessed, but it was still varied enough to keep the tsundere guessing.

"... ...eh? Minegishi?" came the eventual and befuddled reply from Kagami.

Ayano made a slight tittering sound before talking again, "Hello Hiiragi-chan, this is just a game I'm taking part in!" she stated, "You have to repeat the message to someone else, or you will receive bad luck for the rest of the month... oh, and Misao was the one who started this, so I'm guessing you can't give the message back to her!"

Kagami sagged her shoulders. Kusakabe. Figures.

"Very well," sighed Kagami, as she reluctantly agreed to this childish and pointless game.

The two girls exchanged goodbyes before hanging up.

*** * * * ***

Meanwhile, Tsukasa looked busy with her tongue slightly poking out of the corner of her mouth. She sat upright on her soft toy filled bed, playing with her phone as she keyed in various button combinations. So far she successfully managed to translate 'balsamic vinegar' in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew. Suddenly her phone rang, which caused Tsukasa a bit of panic since she was holding it close to her at the time. Tsukasa quickly pressed the answer button and placed the phone against her ear.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi, it's Kagami," came the sound of Kagami's voice.

Tsukasa's eyes turned into white circles.

"Eh?! Why are you calling me, Oneechan?!"

Tsukasa heard a sigh from the other end.

"Passionate love. Profusion of a hundred flames," Kagami said, with very minor enthusiasm.

"...um..." Tsukasa tried to reply.

Kagami made another sigh. "It's a game. You have to phone someone up and repeat that message to them... or you would get bad luck, apparently," she told her sister.

"Oh, I see!" said Tsukasa, and then she started to giggle.

"And you cannot talk to Kusakabe or Minegishi, because they have already spoken to each other," Kagami concluded, still wondering why she was going through all of this in the first place.

"Okay Oneechan! Bye!" replied Tsukasa before hanging up.

Already, Tsukasa knew who to call.

*** * * * ***

Miyuki slowly closed her eyes as her strawberry hair cascaded beautifully into the hot water. The delightful aroma of the scented bath gracefully filled her nostrils, and the temperature was just about perfect. Unfortunately, her phone on the bathroom shelf started to ring, so she promptly but carefully stepped out of the bath to wrap a large white towel around herself. She then dried off her hands before answering the phone.

"Hello?" Miyuki said.

"Passionate love! Profusion of a hundred flames!" Tsukasa replied, in a chirpy sort of way.

Miyuki couldn't help but cover her mouth with one hand as she giggled. "Tsukasa-san...?! Are you okay?"

"It's a game we're playing!" stated Tsukasa, "You have to phone someone else and repeat the message, or else you will get bad luck!"

"Oh, I see," said Miyuki, retaining her pleasant smile as she spoke.

Tsukasa told her the list of names that Miyuki wasn't allowed to call.

"Okay!" Miyuki agreed, "See you tomorrow Tsukasa-san!"

"Okay, see you!" replied Tsukasa.

*** * * * ***

The outside light from the Iwasaki household shone into the garden, where Minami and Cherry were happily playing outside. This time, Minami tried to teach the white dog to jump; the solemn girl bounced up and down on the same spot, as though she was holding an imaginary pogo stick. However, simply looking at the slender girl was enough for Cherry to grow weary. Cherry just wanted to unearth that biscuit she buried two days ago, bury it somewhere else, and then go back to sleep.

Suddenly Minami's right pocket started to vibrate. She turned around, took a few steps forward, and picked up the phone to answer it. Her long time friend was on the receiving end.

"Passionate love! Profusion of a hundred flames!" came the sound of Miyuki's sweet voice.

Minami tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Miyuki-san?"

"Mm!" Miyuki nodded, "Sorry to bother you, but I'm just taking part in a game!"

"Ah, I see."

As Miyuki explained the rules, a tiny moth fluttered randomly in the garden light before landing weightlessly on top of Cherry's nose. A moment later, the moth flew away again. At once, Cherry continuously leapt vertically into the sky as she tried to catch this winged annoyance with her mouth, but to no avail. The moth escaped unharmed.

"...see you tomorrow!" said Miyuki, after telling Minami the rules of the game.

"Mm. See you tomorrow," replied Minami before hanging up.

Minami turned around to face Cherry again.

"Okay Cherry! Jump!" Minami instructed, repeating the same motions she did before.

Cherry just remained sitting down, stared at her, and did nothing.

*** * * * ***

Yutaka, Yui and Konata were all sitting snugly in the living room, watching the last few minutes of an action/romance DVD with varied expressions. Yutaka, although slightly tired, wanted to keep up with the storyline, Yui just watched it for the sake of relaxing, and Konata only watched it to pass the time; her favourite online game needed to download a major update for it to continue working.

Suddenly, Yutaka's phone went off, and Yutaka promptly stood up from the couch before scampering away to her bedroom. Yui had just enough energy to reach the remote to pause the telly.

"Hello?" said Yutaka, after sitting on her bed.

There was a three second pause.

"Passionate love..." was the sound of a very quiet and monotonous voice.

"Minami-chan?" Yutaka asked, wearing the same white-circled-eyed expression Tsukasa had earlier.

Another short pause.

"...profusion of a hundred flames," Minami finished, her level of voice never changing.

"Are you okay?" asked Yutaka.

"Mm," replied Minami, and then she explained the rules of the game.

*** * * * ***

The umpteenth piece of paper found itself being scrunched up and hurled into the paper basket, where it had been greeted by many other unworkable ideas.

Hiyori was in a state; she issued herself a deadline to complete twenty pages by the end of the week, but she had barely even begun. To make matters worse, her mobile phone rang; another delay she could do without. She answered it with a frustrated yawn.

"Hello?" Hiyori greeted in a tired manner.

"Hi Tamura-san!" answered Yutaka in a bright and cheery voice.

"Oh hey Yutaka-san!" replied Hiyori, quickly taking the edge of her frustration away, "You alright?"

Hiyori felt puzzled when she heard the sound of Yutaka giggling.

"Passionate love! Profusion of a hundred flames!" Yutaka told her.

"Huh?" Hiyori replied.

Yutaka giggled again. "It's a game! You have to ring someone up and repeat the message, or else you'll get bad luck!"

Hiyori listened carefully as Yutaka told her the rest of the rules.

*** * * * ***

Patricia felt mildly drowsy as she laid on the living room couch in her apartment, just after finishing off her light meal and glass of lemonade. The main phone then started to ring, immediately alerting her senses. With a second wind, Patricia managed to flip her legs forward before jogging over to see who was on the other end.

"Hello? Patricia Martin here?" she answered politely and formerly. After all, it could be her boss from the Cosplay Café, telling her that the shifts might change around next week.

"Passionate love! Profusion of a hundred flames!" called out the voice at the other end, causing Patricia's eyes to widen with surprise.

"Hiyorin?" Patrician asked, sounding confused. The foreign girl then narrowed her eyes so they were half open. "You haven't been on the caffeine again have you?"

"What? No!" replied Hiyori, "No, that was just me having a bad day!"

"I'd say!" said Patricia, "I still remember that night I rang you up! You spent the last ten minutes making farmyard animal noises and-"

"I know!" interrupted Hiyori, "It was a really tight deadline and... well never mind! Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you why I said that introduction!"

"Oh that! What about it?" asked Patricia.

Patricia brought the phone closer to her as her friend explained the whole ordeal.

*** * * * ***

After the DVD finished, Konata made a hasty retreat to her bedroom to see if the update had successfully downloaded. With luck, the red bar filled all the way to the right, but just as she was about to control her character, her mobile phone played the joyous 'Hare Hare Yukai' theme song.

"PASSIONATE LOVE!! PROFUSION OF A HUNDRED FLAMES!!" Patricia cried out, the second after Konata picked up her phone and pressed the call button. The startled blunette could just picture her blonde friend scrunching up her eyes shut whilst cheering with one hand raised in the air.

Konata felt Patricia's voice ringing in her ears as she answered. "Patty? What are you doing?"

"It's a game!" Patricia said, seemingly with pride, "You have to repeat the same message to another person on the phone... or you would get bad luck forever and a day!"

"Hoh, I see..." replied Konata, closing her eyes and stroking her chin.

Patricia told Konata the list of names she wasn't allowed to call, before they both exchanged farewells and hung up.

"_That doesn't give me a lot to work with..." _thought Konata.

*** * * * ***

"Eighty seven... eighty... seven... ...eighty-aha! Eighty eight!" Nanako counted, as she spent a good while watching the computer screen. Like Konata, Nanako too was waiting for the download to finish, only her connection speed wasn't as fast as the blunette's, so it took a while longer for it to work. Suddenly, her home phone started to ring, so she sighed, made her way downstairs and picked it up.

"PASSIONATE LOVE!! PROFUSION OF A HUNDRED FLAMES!!" Konata cried out, the second Nanako grabbed hold of the phone. Nanako could just picture her student closing her eyes tightly whilst raising one hand in the air... although more importantly, she was also wondering why Konata was saying such words to her in the first place.

"Izumi?" asked Nanako, and then her voice became more serious, "This isn't a prank call, is it?"

"No, no, no!" replied Konata, "You have to pass the message onto someone else, or else you will be stricken with bad luck for all eternity!"

Nanako listened with an uninterested expression as Konata went through the list of names of who not to speak to.

"Yeah, yeah... just remember you have a history exam this Thursday," Nanako told Konata.

After exchanging goodbyes, Nanako decided to kill some time, before she could get her online game up and running again.

"_Bad luck huh?" _she thought, _"What a load of superstitious nonsense..."_

…

_(Ten minutes later)_

Nanako was drying up a few plates and saucers in the kitchen, when all of a sudden, one plate slipped from her grasp, causing it to shatter into many pieces on the ground. After muttering a few words in annoyance, Nanako knelt down and slowly began to pick up each piece.

…

_(Ten minutes later)_

"Oh no! I completely forgot!" Nanako panicked, dashing off to the living room to switch on the telly.

"...and _another_ spectacular home run!" commented one of the announcers on telly, "That's the fifth one in a row! The ultimate underdogs are really crushing the competition this season!"

Nanako sighed and collapsed on the sofa to watch the last ten minutes of the game.

…

_(Ten minutes later)_

After switching off the telly, Nanako made her way upstairs into her bedroom. She was hoping to spend the rest of the night dungeon exploring and level grinding... but it was still on the downloading screen; ninety eight percent, but it should have been finished long before then. Feeling agitated, Nanako moved the cursor around with the mouse... only... the cursor refused to move.

Her computer froze.

*** * * * ***

With a relaxed smile on her face, Konata spent the rest of the night gaming online. Yui was also in Konata's bedroom, sitting on the blunette's bed whilst quietly reading a Manga. Sojiro and Yutaka were already preparing themselves for sleep.

Once again, Konata heard the 'Hare Hare Yukai' song play merrily from her mobile phone. Since she was in a safe part of the game, Konata picked up the phone and pressed the call button.

"FIRE!! LOVE!! PASSION!! HEARTS!! FLAMES!! FIRE!!" the other end shouted out.

"Hoh...? Is that Kuroi-sensei?" asked Konata, though judging from Konata's grin, she already knew it was her teacher on the phone.

"Of course it's me!" replied Nanako.

"It's 'Passionate love! Profusion of a hundred flames!'" Konata corrected, "And you cannot say the message back to me..."

Nanako, this time, listened carefully to the list of names she wasn't allowed to call.

"What about your cousin?" Nanako tried.

"Neesan?" asked Konata, causing Yui to look up from her reading, "Hmmm... that could work. She's in the same room as me... hang on a second..."

Konata turned away from her computer and offered her mobile phone to Yui. Yui accepted it with growing curiosity.

"Kuroi-sensei wants to speak to you," Konata told her cousin.

Yui raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Nanako?" she asked.

Konata nodded.

Yui put Konata's phone closer to her ear.

"Hello Nanako?" Yui said.

"PASSIONATE LOVE!! PROFUSION OF A HUNDRED FLAMES!!" cried Nanako on the other end.


	36. Little Princess

**Little Princess**

_(Some years ago...)_

It has been over a month since Sojiro and Kanata decided to move in together. The whole concept of living with the opposite sex felt daunting at first, but as time passed by, they realised it was the essential step to take in their blossoming relationship. Truly, the two of them were inseparable; they would share meals together, watch the telly together, and even sometimes read the same newspaper together.

At this moment in time, the clock hanging on the wall struck five o'clock. Sojiro found himself seated in the perfect comfort zone; reading a novel on the centre of the couch, whilst unconsciously listening to the news on telly. All he wore was a pair of red shorts and a blue t-shirt; the ideal combination to lounge around in.

"So-kun!" Kanata suddenly called out.

Sojiro's ears tuned in to her sweet voice, as the little lady gracefully skipped down the stairs. His eyes however, were still deeply fixated on his reading material. Kanata stepped into the living room, wearing a beautiful, summery yellow dress, matching coloured sandals, long white socks and a fluffy white jacket. Strapped around her right shoulder was a tiny, sky blue handbag.

"Hey dear, are you okay?" Sojiro asked after a quick yawn, "You were upstairs for a while."

Kanata placed her hands on her hips. "Honestly! Have you forgotten already?" she replied in a disappointing tone.

"Forgotten what?"

"You promised we were going to see a film tonight!"

"_Oh crap! I forgot!" _thought Sojiro, as his heart froze in an instant.

Sojiro's next reply had to be one of the most lamest replies in the entire universe.

"Can I promise you tomorrow? I just got comfortable," he tried.

"You have been in that same spot for three hours!" Kanata argued, although she didn't know that for sure. Judging by Sojiro's posture however, it was a pretty accurate hunch.

Sojiro was lost of words. "Uh... well..."

"Pleeeease?" begged Kanata, clasping her hands together in a prayer.

Sojiro glanced up for a moment... and it was that moment Sojiro stared into those big, wonder-filled emeralds consisting of eyes. He then slowly took in her other features his beloved possessed; her button nose, her tiny mouth, enhanced with a light shade of lipstick, and her beautiful, long flowing hair to name but a few. Kanata was his love, his sunshine and his princess, and he would do anything in the world to make her happy.

Sojiro closed his eyes and placed his book to one side.

"Help me up," he said, as he stretched out one of his hands.

Kanata spent most of her strength to pull the lazy oaf up to his feet, but she was successful in the end. She suspected her man was putting on a 'dead-weight' act just to tease her. With a new-found burst in his stamina, Sojiro jogged upstairs and promptly got himself ready. Five minutes later he returned to the living room, wearing a simple maroon shirt, complemented with a pair of grey slacks and smart looking shoes.

"Okay, let's go!" Sojiro said with a warm smile.

Kanata nodded, and they looped each others arms before going outside.

...

...

...

*** * * * ***

_(Present day...)_

"Otousan!" Konata called from upstairs.

As he sat on the couch and read today's newspaper, Sojiro heard a 'clomp-clomping' noise as Konata, clad in her casual clothing, made her way down each step. How a girl, portraying petit delicacy, could sound like a stampede of giant carnivores was a mystery in itself.

"What's wrong?" father asked, after Konata made her presence known.

Konata rocked the heels of her feet back and forth as she replied.

"Otousaaan..." Konata began to say.

"Hmmm?" hummed Sojiro, eyes still focusing on today's reading material.

"Well-as-you-know-there-is-this-special-live-event-in-Comiket-in-two-days-time-and-I'm-a-bit-strapped-for-money-so-can-I-please-borrow-3000-yen?" Konata replied in a rapid motion.

Sojiro dropped his shoulders. The only word he managed to catch was the four figured one with three zeroes at the end.

"Oooh? Is that how you see me? Like some kind of walking cash machine?" he replied, trying his best to lay down his authority.

Konata placed her hands together in a prayer. "Pleeease?"

Sojiro glanced up for a moment... and it was that moment Sojiro stared into those big, wonder-filled emeralds consisting of eyes. When she truly wanted something, Konata had that same innocent expression as her late wonderful mother. In fact, Sojiro thought it was only a matter of time before his daughter would become the perfect image of Kanata herself. Truly, it was a deep honour in his life to have met such a sweet princess... and be blessed with another.

"I get my wages at the end of the month, so I can pay you back with two, no, three percent interest!" Konata tried to bargain, showing three fingers in Sojiro's direction.

Once again, the man of the house found his wall of defence diminishing rapidly.

Sojiro looked at his newspaper for a moment... before slowly putting it away to retrieve his wallet. He gave his daughter three one thousand yen notes.

"Ah, make that 3500!" Konata corrected, "Just in case!"

Sojiro sighed and gave her the extra 500 yen note.

"Oooh! Thank you Otousan!" Konata thanked as she bounced up and down with glee. She then gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek before merrily making her way upstairs again.

Sojiro smiled warmly as he fished for the remote to see what was on television.

"_She's growing up fast, right Kana-chan?" _he mused to himself.

Sojiro breezed through the channels to see if there was anything on. He already caught most of the news on his paper, and the rest of the channels consisted of nothing but repeats... although that wildlife program looked quite interesting. Maybe if there was nothing else on, he could switch back to that one.

"Um... I have a favour to ask," came the sound of another voice.

Sojiro glanced up for a moment... and it was that moment Sojiro stared into those big, wonder-filled emeralds consisting of eyes, as well as a tiny, adorable face, and vibrant, rose coloured hair...

"Here! Just take my wallet! Take my whole, entire wallet!" Sojiro panicked, averting eye contact whilst waving his wallet around in a defensive position.

Yutaka placed a finger on her lips as a question mark appeared above her head. All she wanted was to borrow a ruler for her maths homework.


	37. Indoor Pool

**Indoor Pool**

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Konata, clad in her darling school swimsuit, waited eagerly for her friends to show up (before then, she had her swimwear underneath her casual clothes, so it took her no time at all to get ready). The atmosphere surrounding the vast indoor swimming pool was enough to fill anyone with utmost delight. Youngsters were throwing themselves off diving boards, teenagers were descending rapidly through the twisty tunnel slides... even a few elderly people were swimming full laps, proving to themselves they had as much stamina as the youths of today. Fortunately, the pool was able to contain numerous people, and yet still have plenty of room for new arrivals.

"Ossu!" Kagami suddenly greeted, as she, her sister and Miyuki walked over to where Konata stood. Kagami also wondered how the blunette got ready in the dressing room in such a short space of time.

Konata returned the greeting, and her eyes feasted on the three swimsuits her friends purchased a few days ago. Tsukasa looked rather delicate in her pearl-white two piece swimwear, with pink frilly bits around her mid-drift. The younger twin stood waiting nervously with her hands behind her back. She was shaky; swimming was not one of her specialities in life. Kagami's one piece swimsuit, colour-wise, was somewhat of an opposite comparison to her younger sister, for it was all black, save for a lilac zigzag that run diagonally across her stomach. Also, seeing Kagami without her pigtails was a rare sight indeed; her untied hair made her seem more mature. Miyuki also wore a one piece, and her choice of wear was certainly an impressive one. From her shoulder straps to her chest, Miyuki's swimsuit started off as a bright, lime green, but the lower half slowly blended into a deepish blue, a colour similar to Konata's school wear. Also, Miyuki had on a pair of clear swimming goggles; she never enjoyed going underwater with exposed eyes.

Kagami took one glance at Konata and lowered her eyelids.

"Still cosplaying?" she remarked with a dry expression.

"Why Kagamin, whatever could you mean!" Konata replied, as she felt a sense of sparkling pride overflow her, "I'm simply reminiscing my beloved school years!"

"You haven't left school yet," Kagami pointed out, and the tone in her voice suggested this conversation was going nowhere.

Konata was the first of the four to test the water; she plonked her big toe in and immediately shivered all over.

"Is it cold, Kona-chan?" queried Tsukasa, who also started to shiver from Konata's reaction.

"Mm!" nodded Konata, taking one bold step forward, "But fret not, for I, Konata, shall brave through these waters and prove to you all that-_GLMPH_!"

That 'Glmph' noise was the sound of Konata plummeting straight into the cold waters... with all the grace of a large brick. The girls failed to check that they were in fact standing by the deepest end of the pool.

"Konata!" Kagami called out, whilst the others gasped in shock.

A moment later, miniature bubbles began to appear... and thankfully... Konata violently resurfaced the water, thrashing about, spluttering, and generally behaving like a crazy thing possessed.

"MHPH-**BLARG-**HHPH-**GLARBLE-**HELPH-**MEPH-**GLORB!!"

Kagami and Miyuki were swift to react, as they both reached out for a hand, and pulled Konata back to the surface. Konata looked like a drowned rat.

"Haarggh! Why didn't anyone tell me this was the deep end?!" Konata complained, flapping her arms around like an angry goose.

As Konata recovered... Kagami felt some laughter emerge from the back of her throat, so she covered her mouth with both hands, lest she burst out giggling.

"Kagamin!" Konata said, flabbergasted, "Are you laughing?!"

Kagami tried her best to contain herself, but in the end failed in a spectacular fashion. As she laughed out loud, Kagami held her stomach tightly, to prevent herself from falling over.

"I can't help it!" she said between sniggers, "First you were acting so mighty and confident, and then, whoosh! You fell straight in! It was like watching a slapstick!"

Miyuki also began to giggle; she delicately covered her smiling mouth with one hand. Tsukasa was the third to laugh, and began to mimic the same actions as her sister.

"Sorry Izumi-san, but it was rather comical!" Miyuki said.

"It was like you just disappeared into thin air!" giggled Tsukasa, causing her sister to nod rapidly in agreement.

"You're supposed to be my friends!" whined Konata, _"I thought I was at death's door!"_

*** * * * ***

Once all the commotion had died down, the girls ventured off into different areas of the pool. After getting used to the temperature, Miyuki wasted no time in swimming long distances, whereas Tsukasa was still experimenting the shallow end. As for Konata and Kagami, they approached the deeper aspects of the pool, partially submerged, but remaining in one spot, casually bobbing up and down. Konata spotted three women striding down the left side of the pool; a busty, bikini wearing brunette with a tomboyish hairstyle, a petit framed, shoulder-length haired blonde lady in a moss coloured swimsuit, and a tiny thirteen year old with long black hair and matching swimwear.

Konata studied each girl and pointed to each one respectively as she spoke. "She's the human warrior... she's the high-elf spellcaster... ...oh! And she's the halfling rogue!"

"Disconnect!" Kagami snapped_._

*** * * * ***

Later on, Konata, Kagami and Tsukasa were somewhere between the shallow and the middle end of the pool. A colourful beach ball landed and splashed in Tsukasa's direction, and the little girl who threw it quickly apologised to the younger sister before retrieving it to play elsewhere.

"Okay!" Konata announced, bringing the twins back to attention, "Whoever can remain underwater the longest is the winner! Ready?"

"Ready!" the twins nodded.

On a count of three, the three girls ducked quickly into the water. It only took two and a half seconds before Tsukasa resurfaced with a loud gasp. Tsukasa then waited a further five seconds before her sister and Konata appeared around the same time, making it difficult to tell who won. Before they decided on a second round however, Miyuki gracefully surfaced out of nowhere, her hands delicately clutching the end of the pool when she did so. In extra slow motion, the beautiful girl closed her eyes and adjusted her head slightly, allowing her long pink hair to flow all the way down to her back. The water droplets in the sky resembled tiny crystals; they were stationary, as if waiting for her to acknowledge the real world, before descending back into the pool again. One could picture the scene with a sky blue background, complete with shining stars and tiny bubbles.

"Oh! Hello everyone!" greeted an eyesmiling Miyuki, when she realised her friends were in the same vicinity.

Miyuki however, adopted a more confused look when her friends were staring at her with an awestruck expression.

"_How long has she been underwater?!" _thought Konata, _"Furthermore, Miyuki-san, do you even realise how awesome you looked just now?!"_

"_I thought she wasn't supposed to be very good at swimming," _wondered Kagami.

*** * * * ***

When they heard the wave machine was going to be switched on, the girls with all haste met up in the centre of the pool. They linked hands together and waited for the waves to appear (Konata was on the left end, Miyuki was on the right end, and the twins were in the middle). Sure enough, they came thick and fast, and the strength of each wave felt like they were pitting themselves against the sea itself. Laughter and screams were heard throughout the pool. Truly, it was an uplifting experience for everyone taking part.

A few minutes later, the waves eventually succumbed to a standstill.

"Th-that was scary!" Tsukasa admitted out loud. Although she was happy to take part, she felt more than relieved when it was all over.

"Mm!" Miyuki giggled in agreement, "You held my hand pretty tight there, Tsukasa-san!"

"Same here," added Kagami.

"Ah! Sorry!" the younger twin apologised in embarrassment.

Kagami continued to breathe in and out, enjoying the sudden thrill of it all. However, when she turned to the left, she realised Konata had disappeared; the waves must have released her tiny grip, and took her all the way to the end. With some frantic doggy paddling, an exhausted Konata managed to join up with the group again.

"Kagamin! Why didn't you hold my hand tighter?!" Konata complained to Kagami, as her fists were raised childishly to the air.

"It was you who did not hold my hand tight enough!" Kagami argued.

*** * * * ***

When the queue to the slides were cut in half, the girls decided to get out of the pool and have a go themselves. Tsukasa needed some extra encouragement from her older sister, but in the end, she decided to tag along as well. Konata let her excitement overtake her as she ran to the slides with exceptional speed, so fast in fact, that the lifeguard nearby had to blow his whistle. The sudden, ear-piercing screech caused Konata (and the others) to freeze.

"Hey!" the lifeguard told Konata, "No running please."

Konata sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Ah, sorry, sorry!" she replied.

The lifeguard then looked at Miyuki with an equally stern expression.

"And you," he said to her, "make sure you have better control over your daughter."

The twins were stunned, but Miyuki, though quite surprised, nonetheless bowed and apologised.

"Come on mama! Let's go to the slides!" chortled Konata.

Kagami drowned in her own disbelief.

"_Have you no shred of dignity?!" _she thought to herself.

*** * * * ***

After ascending the metallic steps, one bye one, children, teenagers and adults plunged into the entrance of the tunnel slide; their thrilled screams quickly disappearing as they sailed towards the end.

"Banzai~!" Konata called out. She dived straight into the tunnel and happily allowed the current to momentarily take care of her body.

Ee-eee... aaaah!" Miyuki panicked. Miyuki huddled herself into a defensive ball before finally going down the tunnel as well.

Tsukasa was next, but she seemed less than enthusiastic to go. Her hands were strongly clasped together, and her knees were knocking into each other.

"Oneechan... I don't think I can do this..." she whimpered to her sister.

"Of course you can!" replied Kagami, with a knowing smile, "When faced with fear, all you have to do is close your eyes, count to three, open them up again, and just go for it!"

"O-Okay..."

Tsukasa closed her eyes shut and whispered to three. She felt fear all the way to her fingertips, but in the end she slowly sat down and shuffled herself into the tunnel slide. The water current quickly took control of her, and Tsukasa found herself in a world of her own. All the excited ambience she once heard were now reduced to dull murmurs, as though two invisible hands were pressed forcefully to her ears. Tsukasa didn't have time to scream, but she could easily hear herself gasping with utmost nervousness. The tunnel slide was merciless; it took her through unpredictable directions whilst maintaining its frightening speed.

Finally... Tsukasa's ears exploded into reality, as she exited the slide and splashed unceremoniously into the pool. Tsukasa quickly resurfaced with a terrific breath of air. Miyuki and Konata were waiting for her arrival with big bright smiles.

"How was it Tsukasa?" Konata asked her.

"Are you okay?" Miyuki added.

Tsukasa found herself breathing deeply for some time. She had scarcely experienced anything like this before.

"Haaa... haaa... haaa..."

"Tsukasa?" Konata asked again.

"...haaa..."

"...?"

Tsukasa scrambled out of the pool and dashed her way up the steps again, just as Kagami splashed into the water.

"Wah-ha! That was great!" gasped Kagami as she resurfaced, "See Tsukasa? Told you there was nothing to be afraid of..."

Kagami looked around, but all she could see were Konata and Miyuki.

"Where's..." Kagami started to ask, but Konata interrupted her by pointing at the pink haired girl on top of the steps.

Kagami was lost for words.

*** * * * ***

Fifteen minutes passed by... and Kagami, Konata and Miyuki watched Tsukasa go down the tunnel slide for the twentieth time; a sweat drop appeared at the back of their heads. With a combination of 'yippees' and other excited sounds, Tsukasa proceeded to make it to number twenty one.

"She's like a machine..." Konata wondered out loud.

"I didn't realise she had so much energy..." Miyuki said nervously.

"We... really should be heading home now..." Kagami added.

…

...

*** * * * ***

…

…

It was finally time to call it a day.

After the girls dressed themselves back into their casual clothes, and exited out of the pool centre, they were welcomed with a cool breeze, delicately caressing their face and hair. The sun began to hide itself into a nest of white clouds, causing the temperature in the sky to steadily drop. It would take fifteen more minutes for their train to arrive, so they all took their time walking with a relaxed pace.

"Aah! The air feels really nice after a swim inside!" Tsukasa sighed happily.

"Oh I agree!" replied Miyuki, who was walking alongside Tsukasa at the time. The polite-mannered girl then noticed Tsukasa's hair, clustered with many still droplets of water, "Um... you should really dry your hair thoroughly, or you might catch a cold."

Tsukasa rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Ah! I guess I wanted to get ready in a hurry!"

Lagging a good distance behind Miyuki and Tsukasa, Konata and Kagami were also having a conversation.

"Tsukasa really caught me off guard," mused the short girl, "I never thought she had it in her."

"Well... I was surprised at first..." Kagami replied, "but then I remembered when we were five; we were playing together in the playground, that one close to our house. I was always encouraging her to go down the slide, but she would always shake her head in protest. Then one day, she finally plucked up the courage and slid down... and after that, she just wouldn't stop! All afternoon she repeatedly went down that slide, and in the end, our parents had to drag her back home!"

"Heh, I see," mused Konata, "so... when it comes to mentality, Tsukasa hasn't aged much at all has she?"

"Not really," said Kagami, feeling a smile creep up on her face. "But... you know, I really don't want that part of her to change at all."

Konata stretched her mouth into a big grin, and placed her hands on the back of her head.

"Nah... me neither," she replied.

…

…

*** * * * ***

…

…

When all the girls arrived back home, the afternoon had eventually turned into the evening, and the sky darkened into a navy blue. After finishing their dinner and watching some drama show on television. Kagami and Tsukasa tried to squeeze in some last minute studying. They were working together in Kagami's bedroom.

"Oneechan... I'm feeling tired..." yawned the youngest of the two.

"Come on Tsukasa, focus remember?" Kagami said, urging her sister to fight on, "All you have to do is close your eyes, count to three, open them again, and go for it!"

Tsukasa looked at Kagami with an uneasy expression on her face. "Um... I don't think that kind of motivation works in this situation," she said.

Kagami sighed and rose from her seat. "I'm getting a drink, want one?"

"I'm okay thanks."

When Kagami went downstairs, Tsukasa looked at her text book and took a deep breath.

"_No, Oneechan is right," _she thought to herself, _"I can't just give up now... all I have to do is close my eyes... close my eyes... close..."_

…

Kagami returned to her room carrying a glass of cold orange juice... only to see her sister sprawled out on the work table, surrendering herself to sleep.

"...another go on the slide Oneechan... weeee... ehehehe..."

Kagami gently placed her glass on the table, and looked at Tsukasa with hands placed on hips. She shook her head, but couldn't help but smile.

"You're hopeless..." Kagami said quietly.


	38. Two's a Crowd

**Two's a Crowd**

It was six o'clock in the evening, and it would be another twenty minutes until dinner would be ready. Until then, Miyuki Takara made good use of her time, as she went into her room, sat down on her chair, and switched on her computer in order to play one of her favourite pastimes, Minesweeper. After launching the program, her right hand snugly rested on her soft cheek, whereas her left hand steadily controlled the mouse and cursor on screen. At this moment in time, Miyuki found herself in her own delightful sanctum; a world where only herself and the game in front of her existed.

At first, Miyuki selected the beginner difficulty on the option menu. Although she was used to the more larger playing fields, she always felt the need to play the smaller stages two or three times, just to warm herself up, if anything else. After all, even the most talented of athletes needed to undergo a few simple warm-up exercises, before they participate in their chosen profession. When she felt more relaxed and confident, Miyuki decided to venture the intermediate level. The 16x16 grid was quite a contrast from the easier 9x9 one, but this noticeable change in size did not dampen the strawberry-haired girl's spirit. The more challenging the game, the more Miyuki felt inclined to see it through to the end.

On Miyuki's first go on the intermediate setting, she accidentally set off a mine on her forth click, but that was just down to rotten luck on her behalf; sometimes the game was laid out in a way that it was almost, if not, virtually impossible to calculate. The second and third time, however, were a completely different matter. On the second game, she successfully flagged all of the explosive threats, and on the third game, not only had she repeated her victory, but she also beat her fastest time by a good twelve seconds. After entering her name on the high score table (to which she always called herself 'Cheesecake Loving Lady'), Miyuki finally moved onto the hardest setting of the game.

Her glasses glimmered as her eyes soaked into the screen for some time. With a 16x30 grid consisting of ninety nine hidden mines, Miyuki knew she was going to have a tricky ordeal ahead of her. She took a quiet but noticeable deep breath... and exhaled slowly; battle mode had been unquestionably activated. Her opening move consisted of clicking the top left corner of the field, which, as soon as the mouse button was pressed, opened up a cascade of free space with coloured numbers visible on every end. With a strong start, Miyuki proceeded to navigate and flag certain areas where she knew mines would be present.

Without a hint of a warning, Miyuki's door creaked open, causing Miyuki to flinch and turn around. Yukari, after opening the door, took two small steps into the bedroom before stopping inches away from the chair.

"Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes!" Yukari happily announced to her daughter.

"Okay Okaasan!" Miyuki replied.

Yukari tilted her head slightly to the right, so she could properly take a gander at the computer screen.

"What are you playing?" she asked.

"Minesweeper," replied Miyuki.

"Oh! You love playing Minesweeper, don't you?"

"Mm."

Miyuki turned back to the computer to resume playing... but every time she briefly examined the wall, she couldn't help but notice the two human-sized shadows; one shadow trying to play Minesweeper, and another shadow remaining completely stationary. Miyuki stole a glance towards the direction of her mother again. Yukari simply stood there, with an eyesmile expression, and her hands on her lap. Miyuki flashed an eyesmile of her own before returning to the computer screen. A rosy coloured hue began to appear on the girl's cheeks.

"So what do those flags do?" Yukari asked, the suddenness of her voice causing her daughter to flinch again.

"Well," Miyuki explained, "if you know a mine is present in that area, you place a flag there, so you remember not to click on it later on in the game."

"Aaah! I see!" said Yukari.

As time dwindled on, the cursor on the screen travelled in a snail-like speed. Miyuki found it more and more difficult to continue playing the game, and her cheeks started to glow a tremendous warmth.

Yukari then asked another simple-to-answer question. "And what do those question marks do?"

"Well..." Miyuki explained, her tone of voice quieter than it was before, "...if... if you are unsure whether that area is mined or not... then... then you can place a question mark there."

"Aaah! I see!" said Yukari.

As Yukari continued to observe her daughter playing, Miyuki's face had now become an incredible colour of red; even her ears were starting to brim with intense heat. Miyuki hunched her shoulders... and slowly lowered her head in a tortoise-like manner.

"_I have never encountered this situation before," _the girl meekly thought to herself, _"but it feels really embarrassing playing computer games when Okaasan is watching."_

-

**Author: **Sorry for the delay in updating. I was working on a couple of really long stories, but decided to scrap them because they ended up being too complicated. Anyway, I know this story was pretty subtle (bit like the cheesecake chapter) but I hope you enjoyed reading it nonetheless.

See you soon.

~Rdz


	39. Childhood Memories

**Childhood Memories**

During lunch break inside the school cafeteria, Kagami and Ayano were sitting oppositely each other, the two of them casually tucking into their home-made bentos. Misao meanwhile, was waiting in a queue to purchase a drink from one of the vending machines. Whilst the short-haired girl steadily shuffled towards the front of the line, Kagami and Ayano were having a light hearted conversation, regarding Ayano, Misao, and how they spent their childhood together.

"...so... what was Kusakabe like when she was younger?" asked Kagami.

"When she was younger?" Ayano repeated, a hint of surprise evident from her voice. The reserved girl placed a forefinger just below her lips as she looked at the ceiling. "Hmmm..."

…

...

**xxxxx**

…

…

_(Flashback One)_

After the first lesson in kindergarten, the big brass bell chimed its usual glorious melody, signalling the time for all the school children to play outside. Whilst everyone else enjoyed a variety of games in the playground, adorable little Ayano, at the tender age of six, was kneeling down as she built sandcastles by herself in the orange-yellow sandpit. Like all of the other girls, she was dressed up in a darling navy blue and white sailor outfit. Despite her age, Ayano was surprisingly skilled, as she patted each of her creations gently, after setting each one up with a the aid of a red plastic bucket. The weather was practically perfect; warm, but not too humid as to hinder her enjoyment. Ayano could play in the sand all day if given the opportunity, for it was one of her favourite pastimes in her young, carefree life.

Suddenly, a Kusakabe-sized shadow loomed over the sandpit, its darkness causing Ayano to look up at her first friend she made during kindergarten.

"Hey Yano-chan!" six year old Misao beamed, standing in a power ranger-like stance, "Look what I found!"

Ayano's eyes shrunk into tiny white circles, as her vision captured the unsightly object dangling lifelessly from Misao's clenched hand. It was a dead rat, a _very big _dead rat, and Misao held the creature by the middle of its long, thick pink tail. Heaven knows how Misao managed to acquire such a ghastly looking creature.

Needless to say, Ayano's reaction was instantaneous.

"EEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!" the poor girl shrieked at the top of her voice. She hastily rose to her feet and dashed away at a lightning speed. Her face was beet red and her eyelids were tightly closed shut.

Ayano spent the rest of the break running away from a chasing Misao and her newfound rodent pal. She changed her course of direction every half a dozen steps, but to no avail; Misao was relentless in the hunt, as she appeared to have an unlimited source of stamina. The rest of the children took sight of this commotion unfolding before them, and it wasn't long before they also screamed out loud, trying to distance themselves away from the crazy yellow-eyed girl.

"COME ON YANO-CHAN! PLAY WITH THE MOUSEY! PLAY WITH THE MOUSEY!" Misao laughed with closed eyes, as she continued to pursue Ayano.

"THAT'S NOT A MOUSE!! THAT'S A SMELLY RAT!!" replied an utterly distressed Ayano, still running as though her life and soul depended on it.

**xxxxx**

_(Flashback Two)_

It was lunchtime at kindergarten, and the children were having their home-made lunch on top of their own desks. As she opened the lid off her bento, Ayano was delighted to see the contents inside, which consisted of five miniature onigiri and a small pot of trifle (as well as a tiny plastic spoon). She happily nibbled on her rice balls, and, once there were all gone, wasted no time starting her dessert. The trifle was strawberry and vanilla flavoured, and it looked really, really yummy.

Meanwhile, Misao, who sat behind her long-haired friend, was ecstatically munching away on some small, triangular cheese sandwiches. For some unexplored reason, Misao felt the need to open her mouth really wide every time she ate her food, exposing her single fang when she did so.

"Waaaahhh-UM! Um yum yum yum yum yum yum yum! Waaaaaaahhh-UM! Um yum yum yum yum yum yum yum!" the cheeky one gobbled, taking no prisoners as her sandwiches were being devoured within seconds.

Once the sandwiches were out of the way, Misao proceeded to eat the next item of food in her box; a smallish sized bag of corn chips. She opened the bag and crunched loudly on each savoury snack. Ayano felt mildly bothered by the noisy way Misao ate her food, but tried her best to ignore those silly sounds emitting behind her.

After emptying her bag, Misao glanced at the back of Ayano's head and grinned wickedly. She took several deep breaths inside the bag, until it was filled completely with hot air. Then, the prankster stood up and leaned forward; one hand carrying the blown up bag, the other hand wiggling with utmost anticipation...

With one swift motion, Misao swiped the free hand onto the bag, bursting it and making a tremendous 'BANG' sound on contact. The resulting shock of the sudden noise caused Ayano to slam her face forward into her beloved trifle, with a petit but definite 'splat'. Ayano shuddered her shoulders as she sat up, contemplating what had just happened to her... before finally turning around to face her friend.

"Why did you do that for Misao-chan?!" blubbered out poor Ayano, who was still feeling the effects of the exploding bag. Her tears consisted of twin waterfalls, and her nose bared somewhat of a resemblance to the trifle she was once enjoying.

Misao did not reply, for she was too busy pointing at Ayano's face, and roaring with uncontrollable laughter.

**xxxxx**

_(Flashback Three)_

One time during the summer holidays, Ayano invited Misao over to her house to play. It was early in the afternoon, and the two little girls, dressed in cute casual clothes, were drawing all sorts of pictures in Ayano's bedroom, conjured by their coloured pens and broad imagination. Ayano focused her creations on nature, particularly flowers and trees, whilst Misao focused her creations on aliens with pointed teeth and multiple eyes. All source of activity ceased, however, when Misao's tummy started to growl.

"Yano-chaaan I'm hungrrrry..." Misao whined, her hunger starting to take control of her.

"Okay, I'll go and ask Okaasan for some snacks!" chirped Ayano, as she left her room and headed off downstairs.

Misao smiled at the leaving form of her friend. Of course, Misao being Misao, couldn't remain a good girl for more than half a minute. She felt the need to do something fun-loving and mischievous. After briefly checking out her surroundings, her eyes pinpointed on a certain A4 pad, poking out of Ayano's bookshelf. She swiftly walked over and retrieved the pad, before heading back to the table they were drawing on. Misao thumbed through all of the pages. The pages displayed drawings of cute animals; rabbits, cats and puppies to name but a few...

…

…

"Okay! I'm back!" Ayano chirped again, bringing back with her a tray of assorted snacks.

The tray and food fell to the ground. Ayano watched, horrified, as Misao had managed to desecrate all of her best drawings on her pad, with the assistance of a single black felt-tip pen.

"Hey Yano-chan! Look what I done!" Misao said, grinning as she showed her the pad. She slowly flicked through each page from beginning to end.

Ayano continued to stare in disbelief. Her best drawing of a rabbit had an eye-patch and a scar, her cat pictures all had swords and spears pierced through them, and the puppy sketches all wore devil horns, roller-skates... and it looked like they were capable of breathing fire as well. How Misao achieved all of this chaos in mere minutes... was just shocking.

"Hmmm... maybe I should give the puppies laser guns," Misao mused to herself, as she continued to doodle on Ayano's pad, "Peow, peow! Peow, peow!"

Misao then stole another glance in Ayano's direction... and it was that moment in time when she realised Ayano had undergone a completely different transformation. Ayano's hands were clenched into a pair of trembling fists. She puffed out her cheeks as they glowed a frightening red, baring an uncanny resemblance to an angry Jigglypuff.

…

…

Ayano's mother was happily sipping a cup of tea in the living room; she sat down on the couch and watched one of her favourite daytime shows on television. Suddenly, she could hear Ayano's bedroom door blast open, followed by two pairs of footsteps rushing manically down the stairs. Seconds later, Misao burst into the living room, with Ayano following her in hot pursuit. Both of them were running continuous laps around the couch, which naturally took the poor mother by sheer surprise.

"WAAAAAHHH!!! SHE'S GONNA 'SPLODE!!! SHE'S GONNA 'SPLODE!!!" Misao wailed at the top of her voice, flapping her arms around like a crazy thing possessed.

…

...

**xxxxx**

…

…

After recollecting some of her trip down memory lane, Ayano slowly lowered her forefinger from her lips, and gave Kagami a nervous looking eyesmile. Kagami tilted her head slightly, as she imagined what sort of things were going through Ayano's mind. After what seemed like a good five seconds... ….Ayano's head lolled forward, her face centimetres away from touching the table.

"_Incredible, she didn't have to say anything,_" Kagami thought to herself, who was naturally taken aback from Ayano's reaction, _"the silence alone told me much more than words could ever possibly achieve."_

…

"I'm back!" Misao announced, as she arrived back with her prized carton in hand; already she was halfway through finishing it.

Misao remained standing however, as she wondered why Kagami was gently stroking the top of Ayano's head.

"Um... what's going on?" Misao asked.

.

**Author: **Wow, already it has been a whole year since I started this fic, and to tell the truth, I thought I was going to finish it long before then. Anyway, thanks for everyone's continued support. I only hope I can continue to improve my skills with each and every future chapter.

~Rdz


	40. Gesundheit

**Gesundheit**

"Aaah... aaaaah... aaaAAAH..."

Soon after rejoining her friends at the table, Misao closed her eyes and instinctively whipped a forefinger underneath her nose; her mouth was growing wider by the second. Kagami and Ayano had a pretty good idea as of what was happening to her friend, so they braced themselves for the resulting attack.

"...chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi!"

"_False alarm," _the two of them thought to themselves, lowering their shoulders in relief.

However, Misao felt a touch of disgruntlement; she wished it would just _happen_, but no, it had to tease her, persistently pester her, until she felt the need to conjure up another one. She was about to take a sip from her carton of juice... until it happened to her again.

"Aaah... aaaaah... aaaAAAAAH... … ...chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi!"

Kagami and Ayano went through the same motions as they did before; they put themselves on alert, but relaxed when they realised it was just another dud. With closed-slit eyes, Misao lowered her head, as a miniature white cloud escaped from her sighing mouth.

"You know that feeling when you have the urge to sneeze? It's nearly there, but then it just vanishes?" Misao asked her friends, in a mild but protesting manner, "It's like a semi-sneeze! They're so annoying!"

Kagami rubbed the back of her head, and let out an uneasy laugh before replying. "I think most of us can relate to that, although thinking about it, your build-up towards the sneeze gives us some kind of forewarning, so when you do sneeze, at least we're ready for it!"

Ayano, with a nervous eyesmile, nodded twice in agreement, whereas Misao had both of her hands near her face, ready to catch this overdue sneeze of hers.

**xxxxx**

After their lunch break, Misao and her friends made their way back to the classroom. Currently, the students were working on an English test, which they had all of last week to prepare for. The ambience consisted of pencils scribbling on paper and nothing more. All was peaceful and quiet... until Misao, who was sitting in the middle of the classroom, abruptly dropped her pencil on her desk; the little gremlins inside her nose began to unleash their wicked ambush.

"Aaah... aaah... AAAAAAH..."

Everyone sitting around Misao's proximity had cowered away to the furthest side of their desk. Even the teacher glanced up from his work desk, as he wondered where the noise was coming from.

"... ...chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi!"

The students nearest to her breathed a mild sigh... before eventually getting back on track with their test.

**xxxxx**

At long last, school was finally finished for today. As they exited out of the school entrance, everyone in Misao's class felt a little drained from the test they took part in earlier. To celebrate the end of a hard days work, Misao and Ayano decided to venture the city and watch the latest horror flick on cinema. The childhood friends wanted Kagami to join them, but the twin-tailed girl politely declined; Konata had prematurely invited Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki over to her house. Misao made some lame comment about she and Ayano being 'secondary characters', but in the end decided to let her go.

…

…

...

One short train journey later, the two girls hurriedly made their way through the city and into the cinema. They were fortunate enough to purchase two tickets due to the film's popularity, and they managed to find a spare couple of seats in the middle row once they got inside. A few minutes later, the place was practically filled with people of varying ages, and their excited whispers were reduced to silence when their surroundings started to grow darker; the wide screen becoming the only illuminating presence. Misao and Ayano continued watching the screen. After a quarter of an hour of advertisements, the title screen slowly appeared. Ayano slowly clenched her hands; she heard this film was exceptionally scary, so she mentally prepared herself for a fright.

...

"_**W A A H C H A A A H O O E Y ! ! !"**_

"EEEEYAAAA!"

It all happened so fast. Virtually everyone in the cinema jumped out of their skin. One particular brown-haired male student, who was unfortunate enough to sit in front of Misao, had spilled his bag of popcorn in fright; more than half of the contents were sent flying in the air. Ayano, perhaps the most frightened person in the vicinity, felt deeply embarrassed after shrieking in the highest-pitched voice imaginable; she swiftly covered her mouth as her face practically turned into a ripe tomato. Misao, after her _colossus_-sized sneeze, dabbed her nose a few times with a handkerchief, before facing her childhood friend.

"Woah, that was a blaster, huh?" Misao said somewhat sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as she spoke, "Heh... did I scare you?"

"Y-Yeah," replied a still shaken Ayano; there was no point denying her scream, everyone in the cinema was a witness.

The two girls continued to watch the big screen, although Ayano still had a frozen, wide-eyed look on her face.

"_What happened to the build-up__?_!" Ayano thought worriedly, _"There was supposed to be a build-up! Why was there no build-up, Misao__?_!"


	41. Flu Jab

**Flu Jab**

"Okay, next please."

The door creaked open slowly, and Tsukasa, with a somewhat nervous expression on her face, reluctantly stepped inside the medical room. Tsukasa briefly examined the unfamiliar surroundings; almost everything was coloured a creamy-white. An array of identical wall-cupboards were displayed on the furthest side of the room, which, no doubt, all contained an assortment of apparatuses inside.

"Take a seat."

Tsukasa swallowed a small lump in her throat before complying; she hesitantly sat down on the chair provided for her. The younger twin looked up at the nurse, who radiated a very calming air about herself. Her name was Fuyuki Amahara, and her primary features were her bright yellow eyes, porcelain skin, and long, untied brown hair, with her fringe slightly divided from the middle. Fuyuki's wardrobe consisted of a long white lab coat, which was worn over her blue shirt and dark grey slacks. It was the first time Tsukasa had properly met the school nurse, but from first impressions, Fuyuki seemed like a very kind and caring young woman. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all, Tsukasa thought. Her lips curved to form a petit and hopeful smile.

"Your name please?" Fuyuki asked.

Tsukasa nodded with haste. "Mm. Tsukasa Hiiragi... S-Sensei."

Fuyuki eyesmiled in her direction. "It's okay, there's no need to be so nervous. It'll be all over before you know it."

Tsukasa looked at the nurse with concerned, puppy-dog eyes. "O-Okay..."

As Tsukasa began to relax, Fuyuki picked up a clipboard from her desk, and leafed through the numerous sheets attached to it, until she found the one containing Tsukasa's medical history.

"Okay... Hiiragi," she began to summarise, "yes, everything seems to be in order. You haven't suffered from any severe illnesses or allergies in the past... okay, that's good, can you roll your sleeve up please?"

"Sure!" Tsukasa replied, quick to obeying the nurse's instruction. Since she was left-handed, it would only seem natural to roll up her right sleeve.

"So how old are you?" Fuyuki asked.

"Seventeen," Tsukasa replied.

"Seventeen, huh? So you must be in your third year."

"Mm."

"Do you have any favourite lessons?"

"Well... I do enjoy Home Economics."

"Really? I used to like that too. So much more interesting than all of the other mundane subjects."

"Ehehe, yeah I guess."

"What about sports? Are you into anything like that?"

"Um... no... not really..."

"I don't blame you. I'm not really into it myself. I just don't understand the appeal of it all; girls swooning over guys, just because some of them can run a little faster than everyone else..."

"I wish I was just a little faster though..."

"Hmm? Why is that?"

"Well... I'm a bit jealous that all of my classmates can easily outrun me... but... if I keep trying my best, maybe one day I ca-EEEEEEEEEE!"

Tsukasa sat up straight and ceased all purpose of animation. Fuyuki, still retaining her calm demeanour, withdrew the syringe from Tsukasa's right arm.

"There we are! All done!" Fuyuki told the girl, with a tilt of her head followed by an eyesmile.

* * *

"...and that's why I screamed like that!" Tsukasa explained to Konata, whilst still rubbing the tender spot on her arm. The two of them held their conversation nearby the door leading to the medical room, and there was still much of Konata's class left, waiting in a queue for their fated influenza injection. Miyuki was the next person to enter the room, and the strawberry-haired girl took a deep breath before pushing the door handle forward.

"She did the same tactic with me as well!" Konata replied, though only in mild protest, "Although... I can understand why the nurse tells you to relax; if you're all nervous and shaky, she wouldn't be able to inject you, right?"

"Eh... well, I guess I can see the reason behind it," Tsukasa said. She hung her head forward and sighed, "but I was beginning to have such a nice chat with her! I was so drawn into the conversation, I completely forgot why I entered the room in the first place!"

Konata rubbed the back of her head and laughed a little. "Mm, after you receive the jab, you get the impression the nurse isn't really interested in talking to you!"

"Well... at least it's out of the way now," Tsukasa said quietly, "I couldn't sleep at all last night, I was so-"

"EEEEEEEEEE!"

Konata and Tsukasa whipped their heads around so they faced the direction of the door; the undeniable source of where the commotion was coming from.

"Oh no!" Tsukasa panicked, "She caught Yuki-chan too!"

"Truly, this Fuyuki person is a wolf in sheep's clothing," mused Konata, placing a forefinger and thumb over her chin.

* * *

**Author: **Once again, sorry I've been a while updating. My next story shouldn't take as long.

Rdz


	42. Back and Forth

**Back and Forth**

It was a bright and cheerful Saturday afternoon, and right at this moment in time, the Izumi household was filled with many familiar schoolgirls. The reason why? Konata had invited her friends over to her place, the same time and day Yutaka wished to invite her friends. Therefore, Kagami, Tsukasa and Konata were all relaxing in Konata's bedroom, and Yutaka, Patricia, Minami and Hiyori were chilling out in Yutaka's bedroom. Unfortunately, Miyuki could not be part of either group, for she had a dentist appointment at a very inconvenient time. As for Sojiro, he was busy shopping, for the cupboard was running out of valuable necessities.

In Yutaka's bedroom, all of Yutaka's friends passed the time in their own joyful way. Minami was certainly content with herself; she sat on a wooden stool, and was currently in the middle of reading a fashion magazine. Patricia and Hiyori had parked their behinds on one end of Yutaka's bed. Hiyori was playing a musical rhythm game on Konata's Nintendo DS, whereas Patricia was cheering on her otaku buddy... which, if anything, only pressurised the poor dark-haired girl to no end. Meanwhile, Yutaka, who was seated on the other end of her bed, didn't know what to do with herself. She could also watch Hiyori playing this rhythm game... but computer games were not really her kind of style. Maybe she could pull up another seat, and read a book next to her best friend Minami... although Minami did seem fairly happy reading alone...

"I'm just going to check up on Oneesan and the others!" Yutaka decided, more or less on impulse.

Patricia peered up from Hiyori's shoulder and gave Yutaka a glance. "Okay!" she chirped in reply.

Minami raised her head above her book and simply nodded. Hiyori was too busy to make any kind of response; the dual-screen and the bouncy soundtrack required her total concentration.

Yutaka rose to her feet to open the door. She then made her way to Konata's bedroom.

* * *

In Konata's bedroom, Konata and Kagami were testing their abilities on the latest Street Fighter game on the PS3. They were currently engaged in their fifteenth battle, and Konata's character had just delivered a perfectly-timed sonic kick, thus winning her the round and the match. Whereas the two battlers were sitting on the floor, Tsukasa was resting her behind on Konata's bed. She was happy enough just watching the screen, although she didn't have much of an idea what was going on; action games were too noisy and fast for her brain to comprehend.

The three girls were so preoccupied, they didn't even realise little Yutaka opening the door and stepping into the bedroom.

"Um... hello," greeted Yutaka, quietly. Fortunately, her timid voice was enough for the others to finally notice her presence.

"Oh! Hey Yuu-chan!" Konata returned the greeting, whilst the twins simply gave Konata's cousin a nod and a warm smile.

Yutaka rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Ah... just checking to see if everyone is okay!"

"We're fine thanks!" said Konata, "although Kagamin doesn't seem to be faring as well; who wouldn't after suffering their fifteenth defeat?"

Kagami's smile quickly turned into a sour frown. "I didn't know you were keeping record," she muttered.

"Ah, I see..." replied Yutaka.

Yutaka was about to leave, when Konata promptly told her to stay where she was.

"Hang on a second!"

Yutaka turned around to face her cousin again; Konata had shuffled to the edge of her bed, and was fumbling through one of the many piles of Manga she owned.

"Here! Give this to Patty," she told Yutaka, offering her the selected comic book, "I'm pretty sure she doesn't have this one!"

Yutaka held the Manga with both hands as she nodded. "O-Okay!"

"Thanks Yuu-chan!"

* * *

"Um... Oneesan says you can have this," Yutaka said to Patricia, after scampering back to her room.

Patricia accepted the gift with a gracious smile.

"For me?" she asked sweetly, "How kind! Ah... oh yeah! I just remembered something!"

With her tongue slightly poking out of her mouth, Patricia turned to one side and started to go through the contents of her bag. After much rummaging around, she at last found the item she was looking for; a DS game titled 'Elite Beat Agents'.

"Can you give this back to Konata please?" she told Yutaka, "She gave it to me a few days ago, but I've finished it now!"

* * *

"Th-This is yours," Yutaka said to Konata, after hurrying back to Konata's room, "Patricia-san said you lent it to her a few days ago."

Konata, now loading up a dating simulation, picked up the game from Yutaka's open palm. "Oh! I completely forgot about that!" she said to herself, in general surprise no less.

Yutaka made a short bow, and was about to take leave, until Konata suddenly called her back in.

"Wait Yuu-chan!"

Yutaka turned around.

"Can you give this to Hiyorin please? I don't think she has read this one!"

* * *

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Hiyori replied, after pausing the game to look at the Manga Yutaka presented to her, "Tell Izumi-senpai thanks, but I already have that one! I just picked up a copy yesterday!"

* * *

"...she said she just picked up a copy yesterday," Yutaka explained, eyesmiling as she returned the Manga.

"Ah, no problem," replied Konata.

Yutaka was about to leave, but Konata called her back in again.

"Wait Yuu-chan!"

Yutaka turned around.

"..."

"..."

"Can I have a glass of lemonade please?" the blunette politely asked.

Kagami, who was now sitting on the bed alongside her sister, didn't take all that kindly to Konata's slave driving antics.

"Honestly! How lazy can you get?" Kagami voiced her opinion, _"Is she always like this?"_

Konata rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Eh, I would do it myself, but my feet have pins and needles!"

"Ah! It's okay! I can make a drink for you!" Yutaka interjected, waving her hand around as if it were no big deal. She didn't want this whole thing to transform into one big argument.

* * *

After arriving in the kitchen, Yutaka had carefully obtained a large bottle of lemonade from the fridge. She slowly poured out the bottle into a tall glass, making extra sure not to spill a drop of it.

* * *

"Thank you Yuu-chan!" Konata thanked. The lemonade definitely hit the spot as she chugged most of the fizzy contents down in one go.

Yutaka bowed, and was about to leave when...

"Um..." Tsukasa said, raising her hand up like a timid schoolgirl, "...can I have some lemonade too?"

"Tsukasa!" chided Kagami.

"Ehehe, sorry Oneechan," the little sister apologised, lightly scratching her right cheek with her forefinger, "but as soon as I saw Kona-chan drinking, I couldn't help but feel thirsty myself!"

Kagami lowered her shoulders. "You have absolutely no willpower..."

* * *

Yutaka arrived back at the kitchen to pour a second bottle of lemonade.

* * *

"Thank you!" Tsukasa thanked. She gratefully accepted the glass and started to take small sips from it.

"Your welcome!" Yutaka replied.

"I think Kagamin wants a glass of lemonade too!" Konata said with mischievous intent, "We all know how she hates being left out of the loop!"

"What are you blathering about!" argued Kagami.

The blunette then leaned over a bit and started to whisper something in her cousin's ear. "You see Yuu-chan... here's the thing about my buddy Kagamin... when she starts to get 'excited', she often initiates reverse psychology every time she speaks..."

However, Konata's whispering was just loud enough for the tsundere to pick up on.

"What? That's a blatant lie! I do nothing of the sort!" Kagami retorted.

Konata and Yutaka both turned around to face Kagami, with Konata making her trademark catlike grin. Yutaka waited with an awkward smile to see if her cousin was right.

Kagami looked at the floor and started to blush.

* * *

Yutaka poured out another glass of lemonade.

* * *

"Th... thank you," Kagami said, as Yutaka presented her the filled glass. She was still feeling a little embarrassed with herself.

"Nyaoo! Kagamin! Your tsundereness knows no bounds!" Konata playfully tormented.

"Be quiet!" snapped the twin-tailed girl.

Yutaka bowed, and this time, she successfully managed to leave Konata's bedroom, without Konata or her friends requiring any further aid.

* * *

When Yutaka returned to her bedroom, she noticed Patricia and Hiyori had altered their means of passing the time. Patricia happily read the Manga that was lent to her, whereas Hiyori had taken a breather from the rhythmic game she was previously playing; she now rested her head on Yutaka's snug pillow. Minami was close to finishing the fashion magazine; it looked like she hadn't moved from that spot.

"Um... I'm back!" Yutaka said cheerfully.

Upon hearing those words, Minami and Patricia looked up from their reading material, whilst Hiyori immediately found herself sitting up. The three girls quickly acknowledged her, all them replying with their own variations of welcoming her back.

Yutaka then pressed her forefingers together, and her eyes shifted to one side.

"Ah... um... can I get you guys anything to drink?" she asked, clasping her hands together as she spoke.

"Yes please!" Hiyori replied with haste, "Do you have any cola?"

Yutaka nodded; she remembered there was an unused two litre bottle of cola waiting in the fridge. "Mm! We have plenty of that!"

"Ah! Do you have any Melon Cheerio?" asked Patricia, hopefulness shining into her bright blue eyes.

Yutaka gave the foreign girl a slightly bemused look; she had clearly never heard of such a brand. "Um, no I don't think so, sorry."

"Then I'll take a cola too!" Patricia decided.

Konata's cousin then glanced in Minami's direction.

"Can I get you anything, Minami-chan?" Yutaka asked.

Minami peeped up from her magazine again. "A... cola please," came her quiet reply; she really wanted a glass of orange juice, but she didn't want to complicate things for her friend.

Thus, three glasses of cola were stored into Yutaka's mind.

"Okay, I won't be long!" she told everyone, before exiting out of her room.

* * *

Three fresh glasses and a tray were presented on the side of the kitchen sink. Yutaka, carrying the bottle of cola, tried her best to fill each one up equally. She had a confused eyesmiled expression written all over her face.

"_H-How did I wind up in this scenario?_!_" _the frail one thought to herself, _"I was only going to check up to see how Oneesan and her friends were doing! How did I suddenly become the waitress of the house?_!_"_


	43. Spare Time

**Spare Time  
****(Patricia and Hiyori – Part 1 of 2)**

Patricia's living room was in such a state; comic books were left in a heap between the sofa and the television, a couple of plates were left between the sofa and the comic books, and a few other pieces of rubbish were left between the television and the plates. In addition, Patricia's classmate, Hiyori, will be visiting her apartment in a couple of hours time, and Patricia did not want her pal thinking she lived in an absolute pigsty.

After swiftly donning her white apron, Patricia punched a fist into her open hand. "All right! Hiyorin will arrive in approximately two hours; that should give me plenty of time to clean the place up!" she summarised with passion. Whether by herself or with her friends, Patricia was never one to let go of her upbeat attitude towards life.

First and foremost, those comic books needed to be removed from the vicinity, so she picked up a bundle at a time, before escorting them off to her bedroom. The plates, though void of any food stains, still needed to be cleaned and dried thoroughly in the kitchen, in case of any lingering germs. Patricia performed this simple task in a matter of seconds, and now felt like she was on a role. Thirdly, there was a small task of rubbish picking to be accomplished; all that was required were a pair of rubber gloves and a dustpan and brush to get the job done. Then, Patricia noticed her Nintendo Wii system, lying not-so professionally next to the television set; carefully, she tucked it away, just above her DVD and tape player.

Once all the basic chores were out of the way, Patricia then acquired her vacuum cleaner, and with it began to suck up all the excess dust and debris that had accumulated over the past week. Patricia vigorously cleaned through every nook and cranny, and even when the room looked spotless, she went through the whole procedure again, just to be on the safe side.

Patricia stopped working for a moment, and surveyed on what she had done so far. She placed a thumb and forefinger between her chin; something was missing... ah! The snacks! She forgot about the snacks! She suddenly remembered something; there was a small, round table in her bedroom doing absolutely nothing! That would be perfect! A tablecloth would be needed as well; she remembered leaving a couple of those in one of the cupboards. Oh, and let's not forget the plates too... six or seven plates will be more than ideal.

After steadily placing the table and the tablecloth in the centre of the living room, Patricia then explored the refrigerator and pondered on what snacks would be suitable for her guest. Naturally, a variety was in order; a combination of bite-sized western and traditional foods would do the trick. Some cooking, finesse and preparation later, and the said foods were displayed in a very presentable fashion. There were seven different types of food in total; and each type of food belonged on a separate, small white plate. It was a shame that Hiyori was the only guest attending; all of her school friends would have loved to seen such a spectacle of edibles.

Patricia analysed the room once more; everything was clean, sparkly and awesome.

"Mission accomplished!" she praised, giving herself a thumbs up to a job well done; her eyes resembled bright, yellow shining stars.

Patricia checked the time shown on her wristwatch. She frowned; there was still a whole hour to wait before Hiyori would arrive, assuming she wasn't going to be late herself. Patricia folded her arms. A few seconds later, her left forefinger was tapping impatiently on her right shoulder...

...

_**Time Remaining: 57 minutes**_

After assembling and switching on her Nintendo Wii, Patricia started waving the Wii Remote around like it was some kind of weapon. Whatever game she was enjoying, it had to involve numerous hand-to-hand combat scenarios.

...

_**Time Remaining: 42 minutes**_

After saving her progress and switching off her game system, Patricia then thought to herself: 'this would be a good opportunity to get some exercise done', so she quickly replaced her casual wear in favour of a white pair of shorts, a matching t-shirt, and a bright, red sweatband. She then began jogging in the corner of her living room, and kept track of her progress with a pocket-sized pacemaker.

...

_**Time Remaining: 30 minutes**_

Patricia relaxed a little as she lounged on the living room sofa; she was reading through some Mangas she retrieved from her bedroom. Whilst reading, Patricia decided to help herself to some of the food she prepared earlier.

...

_**Time Remaining: 19 minutes**_

"OBJECTION!" Patricia shouted through her Wii remote (as well as pointing dramatically at the television), as she spent some more time on her favourite gaming system. She then flinched back, as though her chest was struck by an invisible object. "Ah! No way! I thought that was the right evidence for sure!"

...

_**Time Remaining: 7 minutes**_

After saving her progress and switching off the Wii, Patricia decided to watch a romantic/comedy anime on one of her many DVDs; she was on episode eighteen, if her memory served her correctly. She happily watched the television screen whilst tucking into another plate of snacks.

...

* * *

...

Hiyori arrived by the front door leading to Patricia's apartment; she wore a smart-casual combination, consisting of an aqua coloured jacket, matching skirt, a cream coloured buttoned shirt and sporty white trainers, and also carried with her a cute, rose coloured handbag. The dark haired girl gently pressed the call button next to the door.

"Hey, is that you Hiyorin?" came Patricia's voice through the speaker.

"Mm! It is! Hiya!" Hiyori replied.

The bubbly blonde swung the door open and greeted her friend... in a way her friend never expected to be greeted. Hiyori almost felt the need to lower her jaw. Why was Patricia wearing gym clothes and a sweatband? Why did she look totally exhausted? Why was she carrying a Wii Remote?

"Come in! Come in!" Patricia said, beckoning her friend to come in the living room.

After making her way to the living room, Hiyori looked at the area in utmost surprise; she never expected it to be in such a mess! Mangas, DVDs, clothes and Nintendo Wii games were all strewn about the place... not to mention the plates, most of them empty, displayed unfashionably on a circular table.

When Patricia realised the chaos she created in such a short space of time, she rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously. She then gently pushed Hiyori back outside of her apartment.

"Aaah... just give me another ten minutes!" said Patricia, before closing the front door.

Hiyori stood still and waited.

"_Did she completely forget I was coming over?" _she wondered to herself.

* * *

**Author: **Again, sorry for the late update. Inspiration seems to be difficult to acquire nowadays, not that I'm going to give up trying of course. Also, for some reason, I find Patricia a really tricky character to write; maybe it's because of her few appearances in the anime and manga, I'm not sure. Thanks to the author nukerjsr for giving me the idea of Patricia's gaming console; the Nintendo Wii is a perfect match for her character.

See you in the next update!

Rdz


	44. Marathon of Finales

**Marathon of Finales  
****(Patricia and Hiyori – Part 2 of 2)**

After Patricia finished cleaning up her apartment for a second time, she re-invited Hiyori, and explained to her why the place was in such a state to begin with, all the extra details inclusive. Hiyori nodded understandingly; the dark haired girl could easily picture the scenario in her head, and it was definitely something that would match the Patricia Martin persona. Despite the slight confusion at the beginning, Hiyori did enjoy Patricia's company, even if she was, at times, a little too enthusiastic.

The cheerful blonde spent the first ten minutes showing Hiyori around her apartment, giving her the grand tour so to speak. Soon afterwards, the two of them were indulged into many hours of video game playing, as well as reading various magazines and Manga. Most of the day had unexpectedly sailed by, and it were times like this Patricia wished there were more hours in the day to spend with her friend.

* * *

Later on in the afternoon, Hiyori found herself sitting on a comfortable chair in Patricia's bedroom and workplace. She was currently typing a message on a forum using Patricia's personal computer. Soon after Hiyori submitted a very honest opinion about a well-loved Manga, Patricia casually walked inside the room; her left eye was closed, and her hands were resting behind her head.

"Sorry about the delay," Patricia apologised, "had a call from work."

Hiyori faced her friend for a brief moment before returning to the computer screen. "Ah no problem, I had only just finished anyway."

Patricia lowered herself so her eyes were looking at the computer screen. However, she wasn't interested in what Hiyori had typed in; rather, it was Hiyori's signature that took her fancy. As well as showing a picture of Y*ki N*g*to wearing her school uniform and glasses, Hiyori's signature also displayed a full list of anime she was currently watching.

With mild curiosity, Patricia began to read the list.

**ANIME I HAVE SEEN/CURRENTLY WATCHING:**

**Str*wberry P*nic – Last Episode**

**K*shim*shi – Last Episode**

**A*i Ha*a – Last Episode**

**M*ria-s*ma ga M*teru – Last Episode**

**S*sam*ki K*to – Last Episode**

**Sh*jo S*ct – Last Episode**

**Bl*e Dr*p – Last Episode**

**Y*mi to B*shi to H*n no T*b*b*to – Last Episode**

…

…

As Patricia continued reading, a slightly confused expression appeared on her face. "Last episode... last episode... … last episode..." she repeated to herself.

The blonde girl placed a thumb and forefinger between her chin; three question marks hovered above her head.

"Hiyorin... why are all these animes listed as 'last episode'?" she queried, never one to mince her words around, "Don't you just buy the DVDs and watch them all at once, marathon style?"

Hiyori rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Eh... well, sometimes I watch them all in one go... but other times... ...well... don't you get this sad, empty sensation after you finished watching the final episode? Sometimes I can't help but feel depressed, knowing that the characters, who you have seen develop and grow over a period of time, will never be seen again."

Patricia folded her arms as she replied to Hiyori's statement. "Hmm? Well, I admit, it does bother me when I finish the last episode of the first season, only to wait positively ages for the next season to air. It annoys me even more when they keep postponing the release dates as well!"

The blonde foreigner then adopted a more sympathetic expression; she never imagined her friend being capable of such thoughts, especially when the subject of anime was concerned.

"Seriously though, I never thought you could feel so gloomy over something like this," she added.

Hiyori waved her hands around, as if signalling that everything was just fine.

"Hey, what's with the sympathetic face all of a sudden?" the Manga Artist said, "It's okay! Really! I get over it after a couple of hours or so!" she explained.

She then lowered her head and continued the rest of her reasoning in her mind.

"_Well actually... about being depressed over final episodes... that's only a tiny fraction of my answer! Most Yuri and Yaoi animes I watch contain extremely romantic and emotional content, especially towards the end of the last episode; some of them involve adult scenes too! Even though I'm by myself when I'm watching them, I lack the mental endurance to see them through to the end; I end up stopping the DVD and switching off my computer altogether! I get so wound up and embarrassed just thinking about it!_

"_Furthermore, when I see these certain scenarios take place, I always imagine two of my best friends replacing the original characters! My mind becomes a maelstrom of conflicted emotions; it just becomes too much to handle!"_

"Hmmmm... let's see... Str*wberry P*nic... …K*shim*shi... ...A*i Ha*a..."

Upon hearing her friend, Hiyori blinked twice and was immediately brought back to reality. "Eh? Martin-san? What are you doing?"

Patricia ignored her friend for the time being, for she was busy furiously rummaging through her bookshelf; a bookshelf that was completely filled to the brim with Manga and DVDs.

"...Bl*e Dr*p... ...Y*mi to B*shi to H*n no T*b*b*to ... … oh yay! How lucky are you!" Patricia spun around and announced, "I have every single one of them!"

Hiyori dropped her jaw and widened her eyes. To her utmost surprise, her friend was proudly standing there, tightly hugging a whole collection of anime DVDs.

"Hiyori Tamura!" Patricia began to explain, with an extra cheerful eyesmile no less, "I, Patricia Martin, will hereby cleanse you of your fear and depression of watching final episodes! To cure one's fear and depression, one must _overcome _one's fear and depression!"

Hiyori was frozen with fear; she knew any kind of protesting against her American friend would prove futile.

* * *

_(And so, back in the living room, some time later...)_

"Omigosh! I love this part!" exclaimed an excited (and still eyesmiling) Patricia Martin; both of the girls were seated on the living room couch. "The way they hug and kiss each other is so adorable!"

Her head then turned around to face her friend.

"Ne, ne! Don't you think this scene is adorable?" she asked Hiyori, whilst rapidly pointing at the television screen, "I cannot believe they put all their childhood and differences aside! That makes the romance so much more special, don't you agree?"

Hiyori's face was the deepest, darkest shade of red imaginable. Her eyes resembled two white-filled circles, both of which produced a never-ending waterfall of tears. Her imagination was alternating between a vast display of multicoloured fireworks, and a gigantic herd of elephants trampling through a minefield. Though her vision remained transfixed on the screen, the rest of her desperately wanted to break down and crumble any second soon.

"Well, well?" Patricia asked, as the anime came to a... quite erotic conclusion. She gently, but repeatedly prodded Hiyori on her right shoulder. "What do you think? What do you think?_! _I reckon they should have extended the girl-girl love scene a little longer, otherwise I thought it was wonderful! Love-inducing sweetness for the win!"

Hiyori, still in statue and mind-explosive mode, finally summarised her opinion.

"It's beautiful and painful!" she whimpered through tears, "It's so beautiful and oh so painful, Martin-san!"

"Okay! Ready for the next one?" Patricia said, though she didn't wait for an answer; already she was kneeling on the floor and swapping over the DVDs on her television set.

"Yes and no, Martin-san!" Hiyori whimpered again, "Yes and no!"

* * *

**Author: **Once again I apologise for the slow update. I have no excuses really, I've just been unmotivated as of lately. However, writing this story has given me a much needed confidence boost, and there's no way I going to finish this collection any time soon. See you in the next update.

Rdz


	45. What is Your Favourite?

**What is Your Favourite?**

The time was close to eight in the evening, and Konata, Yutaka and Yui (who had shown up drunk... again) were all huddled together as they sat on the living room couch. They were watching 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' on television, and with the living room lights switched off, made the popular quiz show all that more intensifying to witness. Meanwhile, Sojiro had to venture outside, for he had to do some late night shopping for weekend necessities. He told everyone that he would be back in roughly three quarters of an hours time.

Whilst watching television, Konata, who was sitting in the middle, had with her an opened box of Quality Street, which she shared with the other two family members. Little Yutaka politely refused Konata's offer at first, but further encouragement from the blunette eventually lowered her resistance to temptation. The chocolates did look rather appetising in all their varied colours of packaging; it seemed like a sin not to take at least one or two. Since there was such a variety to choose from, Yutaka decided to close her eyes and take pot luck. When she opened her eyes again, Yutaka smiled in surprise; she retrieved two identical triangular chocolates wrapped in green foil. She unwrapped one of them and took a delicate bite out of it. Inside its unique appearance was a very rewarding taste; a fine, nutty sort of texture, and she liked it very much.

When Yui was offered the box, the police officer plunged her hand right into the assortment of sweets, actions that were a complete contrast compared to her little sister. She swiftly retrieved a generous handful, looked at all of the sweets she obtained, and then put a few of them back in the box; no doubt those were the ones she liked the least. Talk about Princess Fussy, Konata thought to herself.

After Yui had made her selection, Konata then reached inside and picked out a purple wrapped sweet for herself; it was oval-shaped, but with a flat bottom. Out of all the sweets in the box, these were Konata's favourite, mainly because of its dual-flavour, consisting of hazelnut, complimented with a smooth, caramel texture. She teased herself by nibbling both ends of the chocolate, before finally popping the whole treat into her mouth.

Meanwhile, the contestant on television, a middle-aged man wearing a navy suit, was doing rather well. He successfully answered ten questions so far, and he still had the fifty-fifty lifeline to play.

When the show ascended to a more serious level, Konata offered the box of chocolates to Yutaka again. Yutaka lightly rummaged around inside, wondering if she might discover another tasty green triangle. To her mild disappointment, she couldn't find any, so instead she settled for a caramel swirl. Konata then shared the box with Yui for a second time, and again, the older cousin grabbed another handful, whilst discarding any that didn't take her fancy. Since there was no alcohol left in the house, Yui figured sugar would make a worthy substitute, which was made apparent by the rapidly decreasing chocolates in the box. Konata was fortunate enough to find another purple wrapped chocolate, and sampled it with the same method she used with her first one.

The sounds of chocolates being unwrapped, and the voices emitting from the television screen, completed the overall atmosphere of the Izumi household. Konata, Yutaka and Yui did not utter a single word between them, as they all found themselves in a blissful environment.

* * *

After the show finished, the girls left the living room and went upstairs to their respective bedrooms. As usual, Konata was playing her favourite net game with her friends, whilst Yui sat in the corner of Konata's room to read one of her Manga. Yutaka, in her own room, was preparing all of her school work for tomorrow.

Later on in the evening, the main door creaked open and Sojiro stepped inside the house, carrying three bags of full shopping with him. After storing the items of food and drink away in their rightful containers, the father of the house needed a well earned rest, so he sat on the couch and switched on the television. He flicked through the channels and was torn between watching the news or a nature program; in the end he settled for the latter. Sojiro then noticed the box of Quality Street, positioned on a small table nearby. He lightly rattled the box and, to his delight, realised there were still some leftover sweets lurking in the bottom. With a grin, he tipped out the remainder of sweets into his open hand. He looked at the contents for a few seconds. Suddenly, he dramatically lowered his head, as a black, depressive aura began to surround him.

All of the sweets in his hand consisted of nothing but toffee penny chews.

* * *

**Author: **Every time I've gone to a party, or a get-together that involves a box of Quality Street, I swear, once everyone has finished with them, penny chews are the only sweets that get left behind. Also applies to boxes of Celebrities as well; for some reason all my old school mates really loathed the miniature Bounty chocolates, except for me, I didn't seem to mind them.

Anyway... yeah, this is another light-hearted one. For a change, I was trying to aim for a short story without use of speech, since I do enjoy reading the 'silent' strips from the Manga. See you next time.

Rdz


	46. Undefeated

**Undefeated**

When school was finally over for today, Kou and Hiyori decided to spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying themselves at the Amusement Arcade. Naturally, it was Kou's suggestion to venture there in the first place, but Hiyori didn't mind tagging along; it was a while since the two of them had last spent some time together. As expected on a Saturday afternoon, the place was almost entirely crowed with teenagers, as well as some adults too, who wanted to rekindle their inner youth. A vast combination of music and sound effects filled the area.

Whilst Hiyori was lightly enjoying a small variety of attractions, Kou, naturally, was indulged in playing her favourite beat 'em up game. This game was her ultimate stress buster; nothing felt more satisfactory than unloading a barrage of fists and kicks towards the opposition. What's more, the blonde haired girl was on a role; forty-four wins, zero defeats. It was at this stage in the game that Hiyori decided to stop playing for the time being, and watch her friend continue this amazing winning streak.

"Woah, Senpai, you're completely dominating!" Hiyori said in surprise.

Kou's amber eyes remained focused on the screen as she replied. "Mm! I can feel it in my veins! I'm gonna win fifty out of fifty! Just you watch!"

Only a short while later, the next challenger, a teenager with spiky black hair, had stepped into Kou's battlefield. Kou was controlling Ken Masters, a super-quick, blonde haired fighter dressed in a crimson coloured martial arts outfit. Kou and Ken were facing an enemy that stood taller than any other character in the game. The opponent was known as Zangief, an almighty Russian wrestler who wore red pants and matching boots. Scars were shown all over his torso, arms and thighs. Despite his imposing stature, Kou wasn't intimidated in the least. When the battle begun, she charged right into her opponent, and was able to utilise her character's quickness to her advantage. A flurry of strikes and throws resulted in an almost effortless win. The opposing player wanted a rematch with her straight away, but again, Kou defeated the enemy swiftly and easily, finishing the match with a wicked blazing dragon punch.

Once the opposing teenager left, feeling frustrated when he did so, the vacant space was quickly occupied with another person, this time a man in his early twenties. Admittedly, he was pretty good; he was controlling a pink clothed martial artist named Dan; an impressive, flying triple kick was just one of his many special abilities. However, Kou hungered to continue her winning streak, and it was that hunger that gave her the edge in combat. After a nicely executed counter-attack, she won with a good portion of her health remaining.

"_I'm on a role, I'm on fire!" _Kou thought, with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. _"There isn't a man or woman alive that can stop me!"_

It wasn't long before another guy challenged the female gamer. This opponent controlled a green-skinned monster with wildly styled orange hair. Blanka was his name, and his special move was almost as bizarre as his appearance; he was capable of discharging vast amounts of electricity from his body. However, it was clear that the guy controlling Blanka was a complete novice to the arcade universe. Kou knocked out her opponent in record timing, and didn't lose any energy in the process.

The next opponent was a teenage girl who controlled a female character, simply known as Rose. Rose wore lilac and indigo garbs. She had long, flowing purple hair and porcelain skin. This unusually dressed character was capable of firing mystical energy at her adversary, and had numerous ways of defending herself as well. This was Kou's closest battle yet, and there were quite a few times where her enemy had caught her off-guard. In the end, Kou managed to scrape through with a win, retaining just a thread of health left.

Hiyori stood there watching Kou's skill with amazement; she wanted to applaud, but she didn't want to sidetrack her Senpai from concentrating. If Kou could win the next one, she would have played a total of fifty games without tasting defeat.

The dark haired girl then instinctively arched her head to the right, and widened her eyes when she stole a glimpse of Kou's next opponent.

"Hey, that's Izumi-senpai!" Hiyori gasped, "She's challenging you!"

A confused frown appeared on Kou's forehead. _"Izumi... senpai...?"_

Suddenly... Kou stood up straight and widely opened her eyes. Her world turned black, as a horizontal blast of purple electricity zapped through her skull and mind. Izumi-senpai. The short one with blue hair. The gaming prodigy. Her rival.

Konata's selected character was an elderly martial artist named Gen, a white-haired man who wore a distinctive purple and navy-blue outfit. Despite his non-threatening appearance, Gen's attacks were deceptively quick and deadly if caught unaware.

Kou looked at the screen on her arcade machine. On the centre it read, in bold yellow letters: 'Somebody has challenged you to a fight! Accept? Yes/No.'

Her eyes remained intensified on the screen. All she had to do was defeat her, and her win streak would finally increase to fifty.

Meanwhile, a cat-smiling Konata waited patiently for her opponent to reply.

Kou's eyes continued to look at the screen. They were filled with pure focus, pure determination.

Konata... still waited patiently for her opponent to reply...

Kou's eyes became fiery; her eyes were replaced with twin orbs of blazing red fire.

Konata... still waited, and now there was a mild look of confusion on her face.

...

"Ha ha ha! That was certainly a decent workout; I've completely burnt myself out!" Kou laughed nervously, stretching her arms far and wide, and leaving the arcade machine for somebody else to use, "Come on Hiyori! Let's get a bite to eat! I'm starving!"

Hiyori lowered her jaw in disbelief; some of her black hair was overshadowing her eyes.

"_Senpai! That is a blatant act of cowardice!" _the Manga artist thought to herself, _"Wasn't that girl supposed to be your arch-nemesis or something? What an anticlimax!"_


	47. Automatic Shield

**Automatic Shield**

After leaving school, Izumi Wakase remembered she had to visit the book and stationery store in the city before returning home. When inside, she weaved through numerous groups of people, and unfolded her shopping list she had written out yesterday.

On the list were three sorts of equipment required for school; mechanical pencils, some Biro-pens and a couple of jotter-pads. Izumi found the mechanical pencils almost straight away, and was happy to discover there was a pack of multicoloured ones at a very reasonable price. The pens were also easy to locate, for they were only a couple of steps away from the pencils. Izumi reached for a pack of five fancy looking lavender coloured ones, before moving on to collect the last requirement on her list. The writing pads were a fair distance away from the other stationery, but when Izumi found them, she was rewarded with an impressive selection; all sorts of designs and patterns were shown on the front covers, each one prettier than the last. Izumi thought long and hard about what pads to purchase; in the end, she obtained one with an ocean blue cover, one displaying a lovely, bright red floral pattern, and one showing a beautiful swarm of lilac butterflies.

Waiting in the queue didn't take too long, and once Izumi purchased her items, the nice lady behind the till put them all together inside a sturdy, white paper bag. Feeling rather pleased with herself, Izumi proceeded to leave, but then glanced at the time shown on her wristwatch. Izumi realised she still had plenty of time left before her train arrived, so she decided to hang around the store a little longer; maybe buy something else she had forgotten to put on the list. She found herself walking towards the book section, where novels, manuals and autobiographies were just a few of the reading materials to browse from. She walked a few steps further, and was quite surprised to see the store even contained a Manga section, although compared to the others, this section was rather small. Curiosity growing inside her, Izumi braved one more step forward, and carefully thumbed through the spines of each Manga.

"_I've already got most of these," _she sighed, after some thorough examination, _"and the others are not really my kind of flavour. Not that I was expecting much in the first place."_

However, she quickly nullified her current thoughts when she noticed, at the bottom shelf, a solo Manga that looked very different compared to the rest of them. Its spine had already moved an inch forward, almost as if the Manga was... calling out to her. Izumi pulled out the Manga with extreme caution, as though it were a piece of broken glass stuck into a still-beating heart. She gazed at the front cover... and froze.

For a while, Izumi felt like she was the only person left on Planet Earth, the only living species that existed in the entire universe and multi-verse. Everything around her faded to black, whilst Izumi herself transformed into a pale white statue. She could hear a howling wind, delivering her an unnatural chill from head to toe. She gripped the Manga tightly with both hands, and continued to look at the cover with widened eyes.

"_I don't believe it!" _Izumi thought; fear, fascination and sheer excitement were all thrown into her mind, blended together into one alien emotion. _"This is ********, volume two, extended edition! I need this to finish one of my collections! This Manga is rare amongst the rare! This one is sold out at all the online shops, nor could I find it in any Manga store I've been to! Imagine to find such a discovery in such an ordinary book store!"_

Izumi finally found herself returning to the real world. She whipped her head left and right, in fear of anybody looking at her strangely. It was alright to carry a Manga in a Manga store, but an ordinary book store contained ordinary people, and Izumi didn't want any ordinary people looking at her carrying a less-than ordinary item of reading in her hands.

Pressing the sacred platinum closer to her chest, Izumi slowly and cautiously made her way to the other end. The teenagers inside the store had increased by twenty percent, she realised, so she made herself extra careful not to bump into anyone.

Izumi then froze dead in her tracks. A girl dressed in her own school uniform had brushed past Izumi, as she walked in the opposite direction. Fortunately, they didn't recognise one another, but it still alarmed poor Izumi to a staggering degree; what if that girl _did _recognise her? Just thinking about it would result in an astronomical burden of the mind and the soul.

Salvaging fragments of courage, Izumi finally approached the nice lady behind the till again; she was only a heartbeat away from fulfilling her objective and passing the chequered flag. She placed the Manga on top of the wooden surface, allowing the woman to casually pick it up in order to scan its bar-code.

"Um... it's a present," Izumi explained.

The woman glanced from her counter and nodded.

"I mean... it's a present... for my Oniichan," Izumi explained again.

"I see," the older woman replied.

Izumi rubbed the back of her head and started to laugh awkwardly. Her eyes shifted slightly to the left.

"He's... really into Manga you see... and it's his birthday too... and he really wanted me to buy this for him... because it's his birthday, and he was missing this particular Manga for his collection, and he wanted me to buy it, because he was too shy, and he didn't want to get embarrassed, and it would be for his birthday, so I got it for him instead, because I didn't want him to buy it, because he would get too nervous, and I didn't want him to buy it for his own birthday, because that would just be silly, so that's why I got it for him instead..."

...

Izumi paused for a moment, and instinctively looked behind her shoulder, in order to see the queue behind her. The line had fortified by at least half a dozen people, but more noticeable was the ambience, for it had been filled with complete silence. Even a a few people who were not in the queue decided to cease movement in order to see what was happening.

After a short while, the woman, with an eyesmile, finally replied with, "That will be 760 yen please."

"Okay," said a softly spoken Izumi, and with all haste, gave the lady an assortment of coins.

* * *

The automatic sliding doors opened, at not a moment too soon, for Izumi sprinted away from the store, and continued to sprint until she was at least fifty metres away from it.

"_Everything was going so smoothly," _Izumi thought, her face showing an embarrassed crimson as she ran away, _"why did I say all that stuff?_!_ It was like I activated some kind of otaku defence mechanism inside me! That was so embarrassing!"_

* * *

**Author: **I admit, this was quite a gamble to take, considering Izumi doesn't really have much of a spotlight at the moment. Hopefully, volume eight of the Manga (which isn't available in my country yet) will display more of her antics. Anyway, this is how I would believe Izumi will react in this given scenario, and I will continue to explore some of the newer characters in Lucky Star.


	48. My Daughters

**My Daughters**

"Movie night!" Matsuri cheered, as the excitable young lady raised a straight fist into the air.

"H-Hey! Quiet down!" Kagami angrily whispered in reply, "Our parents are trying to sleep, remember?"

Matsuri placed a hand over her mouth, embarrassed she had forgotten about this obvious fact. "Oh right... sorry."

It was a late Saturday night, ten o'clock to be precise, and the four Hiiragi sisters were having a light discussion about what movie they should watch on television. Tadao and Miki, the parents of the Hiiragi household, sensibly opted for an earlier night; the accumulated days of working full hours have taken a toll on their tired bodies.

"Ahem!"

Matsuri politely coughed to receive everyone's attention. Once Inori, Kagami and Tsukasa looked in her direction, the brown-haired girl proudly waved a DVD she purchased a few days ago. The front cover on the case showed an unsavoury picture of a zombie with pink, candy-floss styled hair and a circular, bright red nose. 'Corpse-eating Clown Zombies X' was its title, and it was displayed lovingly in a dripping blood red format. Tsukasa took one glance at the cover and immediately swallowed a lump in her throat; the youngest sister figured this movie would disappoint those expecting a fluffy romantic comedy with an even fluffier happy ending.

"I heard this one was much more violent then all its predecessors combined, so I decided to buy it, just to see if the hype was true!" explained Matsuri.

Tsukasa shivered from head to toe, already picturing the grotesque scenarios in her head. Also, and much to her own horror, Kagami made no objections against watching this two hour, undead-filled hellspawn of a blockbuster. Inori had also cast the next vote, with a simple nod and a smile. In the end, Tsukasa reluctantly agreed to watch the movie. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone, especially Matsuri, who seemed really eager to watch this movie the second she bought it.

"Great!" Matsuri announced, as she crouched down and popped the DVD inside the set, "Let's see how courageous we really are!"

"Hey... mind if I watch as well?"

Matsuri stood up and rubbed her hands with glee. "Of course! The more the merrier!"

"..."

"..."

In unison, the four girls turned around to locate where the source of the voice was coming from. After covering a yawn with her left hand, Miki, clad in her silky white pajamas, addressed her daughters with a tired hello.

"Eh? Okaasan?_!" _the alarmed girls said together.

Miki stretched her arms far and wide before replying.

"Sorry everyone, I just couldn't get any sleep tonight," she said. Truth be told, it was her hubby's snoring that deprived her of any rest. Miki, however, decided it would be best to keep that kind of information top secret.

Inori looked at her mother with a somewhat concerning expression, "Will you be okay watching this?" she asked.

Matsuri, on the other hand, looked at her mother with a Konata cat-like grin. "Yeah, this might be a little _scaaary_ for you, so we won't mind if you want to see something else!"

Upon hearing Matsuri's challenge, Miki promptly sat down on the centre of the sofa.

"Cheeky!" Miki replied, eyesmiling, "I've watched more horror flicks than the four of you combined!"

"Looks like the challenge has been accepted then!" Matsuri declared, as the girl beamed brightly to herself.

Once Matsuri pressed play on the remote, the four girls joined their mother as they too seated themselves on the sofa. Tsukasa made sure to place herself between Kagami and the rightmost side of the sofa. For some reason, this was her preferred seating position when it came to watching horror movies...

After the opening credits appeared on the screen, the first scene of the movie took place at a haunted graveyard during the late hours at night. Ominous howls and groans were slowly increasing in volume, already alerting the Hiiragi audience that the presence of the unnatural were dangerously close by. Tsukasa, trembling with fear, had already latched herself on Kagami's arm.

"Ah, I'm just going to the kitchen," Inori said quietly to everyone, "does anyone want any snacks?"

"I'm okay thanks," replied Miki.

Kagami and Tsukasa simply shook their heads.

"Are there any packets of Kaolla Biscuits left in the cupboard?" Matsuri asked.

Inori nodded as she left the couch. "Mm, I'll take a look."

Suddenly on the television screen, a teenage girl dressed in school uniform was running for her dear life, panting heavily with every step she took. The back of her outfit looked as though it was slashed viciously with a claw, exposing her skin and revealing a few thin lines of blood. Clearly she was being chased relentlessly, yet the pursuers remained invisible to the darkness. An unseen rock caused the girl to trip and fall. She struggled in desperation to regain her footing, but unfortunately it was far too late. The sounds of claws meeting flesh slowly and painfully extinguished her life. Victorious groans of the undead were heard afterwards.

"Eeeek!" Tsukasa shrieked, the poor girl still retaining her vice-like grip on her sister's arm.

"H-Hey! Come on! It's not that scary!" Kagami tried to convince her sister. However, judging by Kagami's worried expression, it appeared that she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

Matsuri flinched back after witnessing the first scene. "Woah! That was awesome!" she stated, obviously a fan of the horror genre, "Did you hear the way she screamed? How realistic was that?"

"Mm. Very realistic," Miki said in agreement.

After the bloody scenario took place, Inori returned to the living room, carrying a packet of chocolaty biscuits in one hand and a small carton of apple juice in the other. She filled up the vacant space between Miki and Matsuri and handed over the biscuits to her sister.

"Great you found some! Thanks!"

"No problem."

Inori gently pierced the straw into the carton.

"By the way, you missed a really sweet beginning!"

"Did I?"

"Yeah! There was screaming and everything!"

"Oh, cool!"

* * *

_(Twenty five minutes later...)_

Tsukasa buried her head deep in Kagami's arm, after the poor girl had bared witness to a man being decapitated by a zombie wielding a chainsaw; a scene which was enough to give her nightmares for the next fortnight. Kagami, though not as scared as her twin sister, was nonetheless completely wide-eyed and frozen; never before had she seen a movie quite as frightening as this one.

"Holy cow that was brilliant!" Matsuri said, nearly shouting, "See? I told you this one is scary!"

Miki nodded with a smile. "Indeed it is."

Soon afterwards, Inori made her way down the stairs and back into the living room; eight minutes earlier, she informed everyone that she needed to use the bathroom.

"Okay I'm back," she said, as she once again joined her family. "Did I miss anything?"

"Did you miss anything?_!_" repeated Matsuri, "Only the most awesome, bloodiest scene _ever_!"

"Really? What happened?"

"Well..."

"Th-the butler j-just got decapitated by a zombie w-with a chainsaw..." A trembling Kagami answered, ignoring the accumulated weight on her arm that consisted of Tsukasa's head.

"Yeah! What Kagami said!" added Matsuri.

"Oh... cool," said Inori.

* * *

_(Thirty minutes later...)_

For a while, nothing of interest happened, at least nothing horrifying anyway. The three heroes of the movie, armed with shotguns and other weaponry, had managed to hold off the horde of ghouls for the time being. However, they knew the monsters were vast in number, and the battle was far from over. One of the characters, an eighteen year old girl, was ready to collapse from sheer fatigue. The poor teenager was in tears, but she vowed to take revenge for her friend that had died in the opening scene. Tsukasa felt a lot of sympathy for this character, and hoped the girl would be one of the few to survive this hellish ordeal.

The heroes then ceased all purpose of movement; the distant howl of a werewolf caused everyone to ready their weapons...

"I'm just going to get another drink," Inori quickly said, and before anyone could reply, the plum-haired girl rose from the sofa and promptly made her way to the kitchen.

Inori wiped some sweat from her forehead after opening the refrigerator door. The moment she obtained another carton of apple juice, Inori heard some screaming from her two younger sisters.

* * *

_(Forty minutes later...)_

Matsuri recoiled back into the sofa, but nonetheless still managed to laugh it all off. "Woah! That part was even more scary than the last one, don't you think?"

"Yes, definitely," answered Miki.

Poor Tsukasa and Kagami had their eyes replaced with small, white-filled circles. It was nearing the end of the movie, but the violence and horror had increased tenfold. Tsukasa had still latched herself onto her twin sister, whilst Kagami was relentlessly biting her fingernails.

After another scenario had ended in a bitter and bloody conclusion, Miki covered her mouth with one hand, so none of her family could note the silly grin plastered all over her face.

"_Oh my! This is just too precious!" _Miki thought and started to analyse, _"I never knew that my daughters were such a bunch of scaredy-cats! Well... at least Tsukasa is making no effort to conceal her fear of horror movies, and I admire her for seeing it through to the end. Darling Kagami was trying ever so hard to perform her role of 'the protective older sister', but as time progressed, she was almost as scared as Tsukasa was!_

"_As for Inori, every time she feared something scary would happen, she would instantly make up some excuse and retreat to either the kitchen or the bathroom! She has completely avoided watching anything that was even remotely frightening!_

"_And finally, there is Matsuri..."_

Miki stole a glance in Matsuri's direction...

"Oh wow! I can't believe how cool this is!" the brown haired girl said loudly.

"_...indeed, at first glance, she does appear to have watched this movie without feeling scared, or without feeling the need to retreat anywhere... but then I noticed one small, noticeable chink in her armour; whenever she feels something is about to happen, Matsuri closes her eyes ever so tightly, and tries to put up a tough front by laughing and saying how cool or awesome this scene was!"_

"This is so really, really cool and awesome!" Matsuri added, and just as her mother predicted, Matsuri had her eyes closed like her life depended on it. Whenever the movie sounded less threatening, Matsuri would slowly open one eye, followed by the other. If Miki wasn't present in the vicinity, Matsuri would have surely got away with her effective strategy.

"I'm back," announced Inori, as she joined the others in the living room, "did I miss anything?"

"Did you miss anything?_!_" repeated Matsuri, "Only the most awesome moment ever!"

Inori once again filled in the vacant gap between Miki and Matsuri before finally relaxing.

"Are you alright?" Miki asked the eldest sister, "You were up there for quite a while."

"Me? Yeah I'm fine thanks, just a little stomach upset, that's all!" Inori replied.

"I see," said Miki, who then covered her broad smile with both of her hands, _"my daughters are so wonderful!"_


	49. Charm of Motivation

**Charm of Motivation**

Kagami watched with intensity as the white ball danced back and forth across the football pitch. Being a goalkeeper was a responsible task, and she would hate herself if she allowed the opposition to score another goal. A few rogue thoughts entered her mind as the game continued to play on: why did Konata let herself get suckered in by one of the boys who challenged her to take on an all-boys football team? Additionally, how did Konata manage to convince Kagami and the rest of the girls to come and aid her? To top things off, they were a _professional _all-boys football team, and taking on a team with that kind of status was virtually suicidal. As the match progressed however, Konata, Kagami and the rest of the girls somehow managed to hold their own. The boys were dressed in red t-shirts and yellow shorts, whereas the girls were dressed in blue t-shirts and white shorts.

Many students, and even a couple of teachers, were speculating the match with varying emotions. The game so far was tied at three goals each side. Kagami began to feel an overwhelming sensation inside her, for she honestly thought Konata's team didn't stand a chance, especially since they were three-nil down from the first ten minutes of play. It was thanks to Miyuki and Misao that they were able to even the score. Just when things were beginning to look bleak, Miyuki scored two brilliant goals out of nowhere; both times she blasted the ball with her left foot, and both shots were around ten yards away from the opponent's goal. There was no denying it, Miyuki possessed great athleticism as she did intelligence, and it was no surprise that most of the girls in her class strived to become just like her. The other goal-scorer, Misao, happened to be at the right place and the right time. Her goal was accidental, for the ball, kicked by the opposition, was ricocheted off the back of her skull, and somehow landed into the enemy's net. Remembering that goal caused Kagami to smile and shake her head; only Kusakabe could pull off something so unpredictable.

There were three minutes left in the game, and the pressure to win was almost overbearing for both sides; the boys had to win to retain their pride, and the girls needed to win in order to show everyone that they were capable of being just as athletic as the guys. Unfortunately, most of the girls on Konata's team were showing signs of fatigue; they were simply not used to playing football under such a long period of time. Kagami, with concern, watched her little sister jog around the field. Tsukasa was trying so hard not to disappoint anyone. Her face was beet red, and every little movement she made caused her to ache considerably, but still she did not give up.

Suddenly, a miss-timed pass immediately turned the whole game around; the boys were charging towards Kagami's goal with utmost ferocity.

"_I was hoping it wouldn't come to this,"_ Kagami thought, as the ball was moving closer and closer, _"during the first five minutes of the game, I accidentally hurt my ankle whilst trying to save their first goal, though I didn't inform anyone that I was injured. I guess it was stubbornness on my behalf, but I didn't want to show anyone that I was weak." _

The opposition continued to plough through the defence; two of them were already waiting nearby the penalty area. Kagami was rooted on the spot. Though she hated to admit this fact, Kagami was... shaking.

"_Damn it! I... I can't seem to move at all! Is this because of my injury? Or am I just paralysed with fear...? Sorry everyone... you tried so hard to make it this far, and now I'm going to ruin everything..."_

A shot was made, one that was only a mere few yards away. Kagami managed to find the strength to dive to the right. Regrettably, she realised her dive was much too short...

…

...

...a small figure blurred out of nowhere, and had not only managed to stop the ball, but also managed to have immediate possession of it. The striker had a look of sheer frustration shown on his face.

"Konata!" Kagami gasped, who was currently still on her knees, "Nice save!"

Konata remained staring straight ahead, allowing Kagami to only see the back of her. The wind was gently blowing to the left, taking control of her vivid blue hair.

"_Oh yeah, that's right," _Kagami remembered, _"Konata had chosen to play defence instead of offence. If it wasn't for her, we would probably be down ten goals by now. Konata chose to protect this goal. Konata chose to protect... ..."_

"Kagamin," Konata said, calm, cool and collected, "thanks for your hard work. I'll take it from here."

Kagami glanced to one side and placed a hand over her heart. _"Dummy, stop acting so cool... and what do you mean __'I'll take it from here?' What exactly are you planning?"_

Without wasting another second, Konata dashed forward, dribbling the ball as though it was glued to her feet. She zigzagged past the two attackers with ease, and was already leaving them for the dust. However, a blonde, fearsome guy, towering at six foot one, had already taken note of the potential threat, and began to charge relentlessly in Konata's direction. He had the physique of a body-builder, and was easily the strongest player on the field. He ran towards Konata with evil intentions in his mind.

"_Heh heh, this is endgame for you little miss!" _the blonde thought and grinned to himself, _"Once I execute my raging sliding tackle, you'll be kissing the grass for sure!"_

When Konata was within distance, the footballing warrior unleashed his wicked technique; the raging sliding tackle was potent enough to take out anything that stood in its way. He was horrified, however, as he realised Konata had made a tremendous leap over himself and his sliding tackle, and still maintained the ball between her feet in mid-flight. The pro-footballer was in sheer disbelief.

"_NO WAY! She leapt into the air, one second before I even executed my raging sliding tackle! Did she anticipate my own move beforehand?_!_"_

Konata continued to be successful; she managed to weave past another allegedly professional footballer without much hassle. The crowd of people were ecstatic, amazed to see such a small girl possess so much talent and speed. It wasn't long before Konata faced her next opponent; the team captain whose name was Tadao T. Takashi. Tadao was an exceptional all rounder, and knows exactly twenty six ways to take the ball from the opposition. He was five foot seven, and has short, militant-styled brown hair. He and Konata stood a few yards apart.

"_Heh... how noble of you, if foolish," _Tadao thought with an evil smile, _"do you honestly plan to take on all of us, the whole team in under two minutes? Silly girl. Have you forgotten that I know exactly twenty six ways to take the ball from the opposition? Face it! You have already lost!"_

Konata looked around the field. There was nobody to pass the ball to; all of the girls were either out of her range, or were being blocked by the opposition. Lacking any other option, Konata kicked the ball straight towards Tadao, a strategy that was deemed rather questionable.

Tadao's smile amplified to a sinister grin. _"Submitting defeat already are we? Fine by me! Even by this distance, I can still launch the ball into your defending area for my attackers to capitalise!"_

Tadao lifted his right foot and prepared to launch the ball sky high; the chances of one of the attackers receiving the ball was almost certain, and once that happened, either of them were guaranteed to score, resulting in a four-three win against the girls. Unfortunately for Tadao, his plan never came to fruition. As he was just about to execute his powerful kick, the football abruptly stopped dead in its path. The ball then started to spin rapidly on the spot and, after much spinning, suddenly returned to Konata's feet with breakneck speed! This crazy manoeuvre caused the captain to lose his footing, as he stumbled rear-end first on the grassy ground. Konata tricked him, and had already left him for the dust.

"_Impossible!" _Tadao thought, as he tried to contemplate his own defeat, _"She deliberately used backspin on the ball in order to trick me into thinking she was passing the ball to me! How could I have been so careless?_!_"_

After having passed through the captain of the boys team, Konata came face to face with the defensive midfielder; a guy with beige, curly hair, who also happened to be half English, half Japanese. Konata had the full support of the crowd now, as well as all the girls on her team.

"_Hmm! I admire your spirit for getting this far," _the foreigner thought with a smile, _"but if you think you can get through me-"_

Konata dribbled passed the foreigner as though he never existed.

"H-Hey!" the guy turned around and shouted, "Don't dribble past me! I was just in the middle of my inner monologue!"

Once she neared herself towards the penalty area, Konata had a difficult time muscling past two other defenders. Misao and Miyuki, however, were currently unmarked.

"Hey! Chibikko!" Misao yelled, bouncing up and down, "I'm open! Pass to me! Pass to me!"

Miyuki gently placed a hand on Misao's shoulder, causing her to stop jumping and shouting.

"Let her be," Miyuki said quietly to her, "this is Izumi-san's moment."

Out of desperation, one of the male defenders suddenly shoulder-tackled Konata to the ground. Konata fell just inside the penalty area. The referee blew his whistle.

"It's a penalty!" Misao gasped, and every player on the pitch, as well as the people surrounding the pitch, shared the same amazed expression.

After getting back on her feet, Konata did not hesitate in taking the penalty kick herself; she carefully placed the football on the penalty spot, before stepping outside of the white-marked rectangle. There was silence, save for a gentle breeze that shifted to the right.

Meanwhile, the goalkeeper readied himself for Konata's deciding shot. His name was Kintaro, an eighteen year old with long, black hair, rectangular spectacles, and an extremely confident smile on his face. His confidence was earned however, for when it came to penalties, his save rate was over ninety two percent. With his forefinger, Kintaro gently pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. His glasses were filled with a brilliant whiteness.

"_Interesting. Most interesting indeed," _Kintaro summarised, _"a girl, with no experience of the football genre, has somehow made it from one end of the pitch to the other. She is, truly, a girl with natural talent... but can her natural talent overcome my overwhelming level of experience?"_

The goalkeeper's eyes were fixated on the way Konata's feet were positioned. Aside from Konata, himself, the ball and the field, everything else was null and void; Kintaro drowned every other sight and sound from existence.

"_I see... she is left footed, and my experience tells me she is aiming for... the top leftmost corner... ..."_

Everything happened in extreme slow motion. Konata ran and took the shot. As the goalkeeper predicted, she aimed the ball for the top left-hand corner. Kintaro dived to save the ball, but as he found himself hanging in mid-flight, he had a gut feeling something was wrong.

"_... ...wait! The grass blades on the field! They are suddenly blowing strongly to the right! The wind has dramatically changed... ..."_

Kintaro's suspicions were confirmed; as the ball was just about to reach the left-hand corner, it immediately halted its current course, and, thanks to the aid of the wind, curved violently to the right-hand corner. When the ball reached the back of the net, the referee whistled once to acknowledge the goal, and then a further three times to declare the end of the match.

"_... ...UNBELIEVABLE! She... she used the wind as her ally and unleashed a devastating wind-guided banana shot!"_

Tsukasa, despite being exhausted throughout the entire game, managed to find the energy to fun towards her older sister. She gave Kagami a giant hug.

"We did it Oneechan!" she cheered, elated with happiness, "Kona-chan did it! We won!"

Kagami was still surprised how Konata made it from one end of the pitch to the other. "Uh, yeah! She made it! _I still can't get over the fact that she pulled it off!"_

The rest of the girls ran towards Konata to congratulate her. Konata soaked in all the praise in a calm and collected manner; she simply showed her catlike smile, whilst rubbing the back of her head. The boys hung their heads in shame; never before had they suffered such a defeat, especially against a team of underdogs. Kintaro, meanwhile, was still on the ground, contemplating his loss.

"_I see," _Kintaro concluded, smiling and acknowledging defeat, _"I feel this tingling sensation... this is what it feels like to come face to face with one who possesses natural talent! Izumi-sama, you have presented me a different outlook towards life! I shall look forward to the next time we meet!"_

* * *

After the match, and after dressing back into their standard uniforms, Konata, Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki returned to the school cafeteria for the remainder of their lunch break. Though everyone had more than their fair share of exercise, Tsukasa was by far the more exhausted of the four; she sipped through her carton of apple juice as though her life depended on it.

"...I never expected us to draw against a professional football team, much less win against them!" Miyuki said, placing a hand on her cheek and making an eyesmile.

"Well, you did help us by scoring two amazing goals," Tsukasa reminded her, "you were really spectacular Yuki-chan!_"_

"Ah, but let's not forget Izumi-san as well!" Miyuki interrupted, before she allowed Tsukasa to embarrass her with more praise, "Towards the end of the game, I have never seen anyone run with such determination in all my life!"

Kagami simply nodded, more focused with her own thoughts instead of the conversation. _"She was truly phenomenal, not only because of the way she single-handedly defeated the other team... but also before then, when she spent most of the time playing in defence. It must have been a tiring process, constantly dashing back and forth, and saving shots whenever I struggled to protect the ball myself. I wonder why she chose to play defence anyway?"_

Remembering all the times Konata protected her goal, Kagami smiled in a dreamlike fashion.

"_I guess she didn't want me to feel responsible every time I let in a goal; maybe she wanted to share the burden as well. Honestly Konata, if that were the case, you can be so thoughtful and caring sometimes."_

A few bleeps and other unusual sound effects caused Kagami to break out of her wonderment. Her eyes shifted towards the source of the sound, and the source was a small, spherical object belonging to Konata Izumi. It was coloured in two halves that were split horizontally; the upper half was red whereas the bottom half was white. The centre of the object showed a small LCD screen, and below the screen were three small white buttons.

"What's that?" Kagami asked Konata.

"This?" Konata replied, and then showed her the item in question, "It's my Pokéwalker! With this, I can store any one of my pokémon from my DS inside here, and then the pokémon inside my Pokéwalker will gain experience every time I walk a number of steps! You could say its like a pacemaker, only much more fun to use!"

"I see," Kagami summarised.

The twin-tailed girl sipped into her can of lemonade. It was low-fat, so she didn't have to worry about gaining too many calories from drinking it. It was very refreshing to drink a can of lemonade, especially after an intense game of football.

"W-Wait a minute!" Kagami said suddenly, "D-Don't tell me you were carrying this thing throughout the entire match?_!_?"

Konata nodded twice, catlike smile inclusive. "Mm-mm! Thanks to this baby, my Jigglypuff has now advanced three whole levels!"

Upon hearing this, Miyuki and Tsukasa couldn't help but show a nervous eyesmile. Kagami, face smeared in mass disbelief, turned to face another direction.

"_I should have known something was up from the very beginning!" _Kagami thought bitterly to herself, _"When she isn't motivated through gaming, she is motivated through devices related to gaming! It's almost scary when you think about it!"_

"Ooh! I also found a moonstone!" added Konata, as she continued to fiddle around with her electronic friend.


	50. Daze of the Weak

**Daze of the Weak**

_(Monday)_

Kagami considered her options, as her finger traced over all the available snacks the school vending machine had on offer. Since weighing herself yesterday, the violet haired girl, for a whole week, vowed to rearrange her eating lifestyle, and ultimately lose some of that weight she accumulated during the holiday season. Under normal circumstances, the range of bars, nibbles and drinks would provide her with a lot of selection, but for a successful diet, this choice had to be severely restricted. Kagami pondered upon her restricted choice...

A hexagonal tube of Smarties suddenly caught her attention. Indeed it was wrong, an obvious mistake to even consider confectionery as part of ones diet... but according to the information shown on the tube, this particular confectionery contained eighty nine calories.

"_Only eighty nine calories for a tube of Smarties?" _Kagami thought with a surprised smile, _"I can enjoy these without the worry of piling on the pounds!"_

After inserting the money and making the appropriate decision, Kagami eagerly retrieved the tube of shelled chocolates. Her thumb was a mere flick away from prying the top open... when her eyes then captured the very small print that was shown just above the number eighty nine: 'per half tube'.

Her world turned upside down.

"_That is really deceptive!" _Kagami thought, shocked as her eyes were still fixated on the recently purchased item, _"Had the original number been displayed there, I would have felt less inclined to buy them in the first place! There is no way I can eat these now!"_

* * *

_(Tuesday)_

After school was over, Kagami, Tsukasa, Konata and Miyuki were walking through the busy city; it would be a quarter of an hour before the four of them would arrive at the train station. Kagami was the only one who lacked a merry expression on her face; it looked like two giant rocks were placed on each of her shoulders; one rock named hunger, the other named depression.

"Ugh! It's only been a day and a half," she groaned, "but it feels like a whole week has gone by already! I don't know if I can take anymore of this..."

Hearing the sound of Kagami's resigning voice, Tsukasa quickly faced her older sister, clasping her hands around her own. "No! You can't give up yet Oneechan! Remember what you told me at the swimming pool; close your eyes, count to three, and just go for it! You can do it Oneechan! I believe in you!"

Naturally, this little commotion caused Konata and Miyuki to stop behind them.

"_This is really adorable!" _thought Konata, covering her cat smile with one hand.

Kagami closed her eyes and moved a determined fist closer to her face. Tsukasa's words rung true; she couldn't give up, she will not give up. She was stronger than that, so much stronger. Her eyes lit up, and was rekindled with a second source of energy. "You're right Tsukasa! I can breeze through this week if I just think positively!"

The group of four girls continued walking down the pathway. Along the way, Kagami's eyes took note of the sign placed nearby a book store, which read: 'At least 25% off all books!'

"_Fight-o! Fight-o!" _chanted Kagami, smiling broadly as she continued her stride.

The group of four girls continued walking down the pathway. Along the way, Kagami's eyes took note of the sign placed nearby a toy store, which read: '20% off everything! Hurry whilst stocks last!'

"_Fight-o! Fight-o!" _chanted Kagami, feeling stronger, feeling more confident with every step she took.

The group of four girls continued walking down the pathway. Along the way, Kagami's eyes took note of the sign placed nearby her favourite cake restaurant, which read: 'All cakes! 30% off! For one week only!'

"_..."_

"No! No Oneechan! It's only an illusion! Only an illusion!" Tsukasa panicked, blocking the sign with her back, and flapping her arms around like a distressed bird, "Keep walking! There's nothing to see here! Nothing!"

Kagami dropped her shoulders and remained stationary, her energy depleting at an monumental rate.

"Tsukasa is trying very hard to motivate her sister, isn't she?" Miyuki quietly commented.

Konata nodded in agreement. "Mm. It's kind of moving... in a way," she replied.

* * *

_(Wednesday)_

After finishing their school council meeting, Kagami and Miyuki were walking together through one of the main corridors. "How are you managing with your diet Kagami-san?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, to tell the truth, not very good," Kagami replied, "my body clock is driving me haywire! Every day, around seven in the evening, my stomach always tells me to eat chocolate, or something equally as unhealthy!"

"That's because your body clock is used to the foods you eat," Miyuki informed, "if you continuously force yourself to stop eating these snacks, then your body clock will eventually adapt to your new eating lifestyle."

Kagami nodded, seeing reason to Miyuki's sound logic. "That seems logical enough, though I'm sure this adaptation is sure to take a while."

"These things do take time, but I'm sure you will succeed in the end Kagami-san!" Miyuki comforted with a smile.

"Thanks, I'll definitely do my best!"

They walked a little longer until Kagami decided to resume the conversation.

"But Miyuki, how do you avoid snacking?" she asked, "Don't you ever feel tempted to eat something naughty once in a while?"

"Well... um..."

Miyuki stopped moving. She placed a hand over her right cheek, closed her eyes and smiled a sad smile.

"...my teeth are rather delicate to most of these edibles, so I can ill afford the luxury, even if I wanted them."

Kagami opened her mouth in fear and realisation; the top half of her face darkened considerably, whilst her mouth remained hung agape.

"_How insensitive of me!" _she thought and panicked, _"Here I am complaining and feeling sorry for myself, when Miyuki has been silently suffering for a very long period of time! Her will must be made out of solid iron!"_

* * *

_(Thursday)_

Kagami was in her bedroom, lounging on her bed whilst playing a retro-arcade adventure game on her Playstation. Out of the four possible characters to choose from, Kagami opted to play the Valkyrie; a female fighter clad in red armour, and carrying a sword, shield and an unlimited supply of throwing daggers. Kagami was amazed that she didn't think of this idea sooner; computer games were a great distraction for combating ones desire for snacking. She reached the fifth level effortlessly, but after clearing a large room of ghosts, grunts and demons, Kagami and her character found themselves wandering through a complicated maze.

"Red Valkyrie needs food badly," the dungeon-master voice told her.

Kagami frowned but nonetheless kept her focus. There had to be an undiscovered lair somewhere in this level; a lair filled with all sorts of rewards, as well as items to replenish her life.

"Red Valkyrie, your life force is running out," the voice pressured.

Kagami intensified her frown; her character was becoming ravenous. Any morsel of food would prove welcome at this stage.

"Red Valkyrie is about to die!"

By chance rather than skill, Kagami found a new area at long last, just as her life dwindled down to a mere one hundred points. In desperation, she used magic to erase all monsters on the screen. Once they succumbed to the deadly magic, Kagami was delighted to find a plate of food just begging to be devoured. Her mind reached a state of euphoria; images of dinner and dessert circled above her head. A large, roasted chicken leg. A joint of mouth watering ham. A selection of succulent cakes on a large, silver tray. So long as it were tasty and filling, Kagami would happily welcome the food with open arms. Unfortunately, Kagami accidentally pressed a button on her controller, which enabled her to fire a dagger directly at the food, thus making the food completely disappear on contact.

"Red Valkyrie shot the food."

Kagami sighed woefully as she returned to reality. Her hunger increased ten-fold, her euphoria decimated.

"_Maybe I should quit playing this game," _she thought, clutching her growling stomach with one hand.

* * *

_(Friday)_

During the lunch hour, Kagami, Misao and Ayano were seated around one of the cafeteria tables. In order to maintain this diet of hers, Kagami relieved her lunch of her usual high calorie foods. She looked at her healthy bento, which consisted of rice and sweetcorn, a couple of small spring-rolls, and a few wafer thin slices of turkey. They was zero sign of her favourite sausage octopus anywhere; she really missed the flavour of tasty sausage meat, not to mention the cute little faces her sister used to create with them. She sighed, only a few more days until it was finally over.

"Hiiragi, what's wrong?" asked the girl with yellow eyes, "You look down in the dumps."

Kagami looked up from her food to reply. "Oh nothing. It's just that this diet is taking a toll on my sanity."

"Is that so?" Misao said, who then turned to one side and started to snigger, "Hiiragi misses her beloved octopus!"

"Oh shush!" Kagami replied angrily, an obvious blush all over her face, _"Seriously! What did Konata say to her?_!_"_

Kagami closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Besides... isn't that bento of yours a little on the big size?" she stated gruffly, "If you're not too careful, you will be going on a diet as well!"

Indeed Kagami was correct; Misao's bento was twice the size of her own, and was filled with various meats, vegetables and omelets.

"Hmph!" Misao huffed, puffing out her chest and accepting the challenge,"I need to eat all of this in order to build up my muscle and stamina!"

"Ah... I see," Kagami remembered, "you belong in the track and field club, so eating all that food is a necessity to you."

"Correct!" Misao said proudly, her fang poking out of her beaming smile, "I can eat as much as I like, because I burn it up just as quickly!"

Kagami thought long and hard about this; maybe she should do something like track and field, though she had enough on her plate as it is, what with studying and being the student council president of her class. It would be difficult to juggle track and field on top of her already busy schedule. Discarding this thought for the time being, Kagami then looked in Ayano's direction; Ayano was eating very quietly next to her childhood friend. Kagami took note of the size of the bento she was eating from; it was unquestionably tiny.

"Um... Minegishi," Kagami said suddenly, catching Ayano slightly off guard, "if you don't mind me asking, why is your lunch so small?"

"Eh?" Ayano replied. Ayano shifted her eyes to the right, as she tried to think of a suitable answer, "It's... well..."

An immediate realisation struck into the very soul of one Kagami Hiiragi; the awkwardness in Ayano's eyes told her everything.

"Hold it!" Kagami shouted, raising one hand high in defence.

Kagami's head and twin-tails flopped forward.

"I think I just figured out the answer for myself," she concluded, her voice decreasing to a barely audible whisper.

Ayano puffed out her cheeks and pouted. "Well I'm glad you figured it out, but can you drop that depressing attitude please! Just because I have one doesn't make me better than you!"

"No... no... of course it doesn't..." Kagami trailed off, sounding defeated, _"If I lose more weight, maybe my chances of having one will increase..."_

Ayano closed her eyes and sighed. "Honestly..."

* * *

_(Saturday – 7.30pm)_

Kagami sat down on the couch of the living room, relaxing since she didn't have to worry about school tomorrow. Her parents were working late, and her sisters were lounging in their respective bedrooms... meaning, she had full control, full reign of the television and the remote. Bliss. She could watch whatever she wanted, without protest from the rest of the family. Flicking through the channels, she finally found something worthwhile; a film with a mixture of action, adventure and romance, and it was just showing the opening credits. Perfect.

When the film paused for the advertisements, Kagami seized the opportunity and hurried into the kitchen. Once there, she opened the cupboard doors and found a box of chocolaty Pocky with her name on it. She returned to the living room, just in time for the film to resume where it left off. After resting her behind, Kagami opened the top of the box, and pulled out a solo pocky; naked biscuit at the end, the rest covered in dark, bitter-sweet chocolate.

* * *

_(Saturday – 8.06pm)_

Konata was midway through an anime she was watching on her computer, when the 'Hare Hare Yukai' theme song was suddenly heard from her cellphone; a rare occurrence for the otaku, for she seldom has her cellphone switched on.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ko-na-taaaaaa!_!_"

Konata widened her eyes. "Kagamin?"

"Help me Konata!" her friend wailed, "I did it without thinking! The television made me do it! I unconsciously went for a snack, and it was millimetres away from my mouth!"

"Well... most people tend to snack when they're watching something on telly," Konata replied, reverting to her usual calm manner, "but Kagamin, you really need to sort out this willpower of yours..."

* * *

_(Sunday)_

Judgement day. It was seven o'clock in the morning, and Kagami was the first of the family to rise out of bed. Wearing a dressing gown, she scampered to the bathroom, and looked at the weighing scales. She gulped. She closed her eyes. She slowly set one foot on top of the scales... eventually followed by the other. Kagami expected the worst; would a week of not eating confectionery really make a difference? Would seven days without snacking really make her feel good about herself?

She opened her eyes.

Kagami gasped. According to the scales, she had lost two pounds. No... this had to be a lie, or a dream, Kagami thought to herself. She stepped off and stepped onto the scales again. No... it was not a lie, or a dream, or an alternative universe from another dimension. Two pounds she had lost. Two pounds have disappeared from her original weight total.

Twin waterfalls streamed down her eyes.

"_I did it!" _Kagami cheered inwardly, extremely overjoyed, _"I know it's only a couple of pounds, but it feels so spectacular when you work agonisingly hard for something, and then have the results, the fruits of your hard work, shown in front of your very eyes to see! I am so happy!"_

* * *

**Author: **Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed all of my little stories so far. It's a good feeling to finally reach half a century, and I know in due time, I will eventually make the full century as well. See you in the next chapter!

~Rdz


	51. Entertainment of Another Flavour

**Entertainment of Another Flavour**

Sixty-four squares arranged in a chequered black and white playing field was the standard layout for any traditional chessboard. All of the pieces were set and ready to do battle. She remembered this game through watching an early Suzumiya episode, but actually sitting down and playing it was an entirely different experience altogether. Having all the rules explained to her only made things twice as complicated. Truly, it was a game that required a great deal of intellect and patience; two skills that the girl failed to master.

The game had begun, and it was time to make the opening move. A petit hand wearily picked up a white knight-piece and placed it onto a vacant square.

"Oh, the knight cannot go there."

"Ah, sorry."

The hand returned the knight-piece back to its original position. She decided to move one of her eight pawns instead; it was moved one square forward...

...

Five minutes have passed by since her opening move, and already she was on the verge of defeat. She was virtually swamped by her opponent's untouchable army of darkness; all the intelligence in the world would not save her now. Even though a loss was inevitable, she elected to move her white castle four squares right. Her opponent anticipated this, and countered by moving her black queen five squares diagonally, taking away the castle and forcing the king into an inescapable surrender.

"Check-mate!" Her opponent announced.

The defeated girl frowned in confusion. "Check... mate?"

"Mm! That is what you say when your opponent's king cannot escape from being 'checked'!"

"Ah. So... I lost?"

"Mm."

"I see..."

* * *

The chessboard and all of its pieces were cleared away, replaced with a game equally as difficult to understand. It was aptly titled 'Mastermind', and the game consisted of a rectangular, polished wooden block, with rows of small holes shown in the centre, and even smaller holes shown on the side. The bottom of the game also presented four holes, but these holes were secretly concealed, meaning the player opposite would not be able to see them. In addition to the game, there was a small beige-coloured pouch which, inside, contained lots of different coloured pegs.

She examined the pouch before gently spilling out the contents, allowing some of the pegs to escape onto the table. Alright, she thought, so the pegs fit into the holes, and the smaller pegs fit into the smaller holes... but the whole concept of this game still begged an explanation, which her opponent was more than happy to provide.

"Player one is the codebreaker and player two is the code-setter! The code-setter has to place four coloured pegs of her choosing into the hidden section of the board, and the codebreaker has twelve turns to guess this sequence of the four pegs in order to complete the game!"

She listened to her opponent with slit eyes and a petit, triangular mouth. So far, her opponent's explanation was indecipherable. Codebreakers? Code-setters? Sequences? What on earth was her opponent talking about? She could only draw a single summary; her opponent was definitely a moé-alien, and this game was designed by a moé-alien, for moé-aliens.

"Once the codebreaker places her first sequence of pegs in the front set of the small holes, the code-setter gives the codebreaker a clue, by placing in the tiny holes zero to four black or white pegs. A black peg is placed for each code peg which is correct in both colour and position, whereas a white peg is placed for a correct colour peg, but placed in the wrong position! Naturally the codebreaker must aim for four black pegs before the twelve turns expire!"

The continued explanation did not help matters. Instead of seeing light at the end of the tunnel, all the girl saw was a deep black coma of nothingness. Still... maybe she was overacting just a little. Maybe she would understand the game more by playing through it instead.

After some thought, the girl decided to play the role of codebreaker (whatever that meant), meaning her opponent was the one to set the code. The girl began by placing one red, one green, one blue and one yellow peg on the front row of the holes. Her opponent glanced at her own protected sequence of colours, before reaching out and placing two white pegs next to the first guessed row. The girl made an unsatisfactory thinking sound, complimented well with her scrunched up face.

...

...after several attempts, she finally got the idea of how the game was played, and miraculously guessed the correct code in no less than ten turns. Her opponent then cleared all the pegs before turning it around, so their roles of codebreaker and code-setter were reversed. The girl wasted little time in secretly placing her code... and her opponent wasted little time in guessing it.

She could not believe her own eyes. Her opponent cracked the code in a mere three turns.

* * *

The girl looked at the third game presented in front of her. Similar to the chessboard, it was an eight-by-eight sized grid, though the squares themselves were not chequered; they all consisted of a moss green colour. Displayed on the central four squares were four discs; two white ones and two black ones. The white ones were placed top-left and bottom-right, whereas the black ones were placed top-right and bottom-left.

She picked up a disc and examined it for the sake of satisfying her curiosity. She realised that all of the discs had one side coloured white and one side coloured black; perhaps they provided some kind of flip effect? She placed the disc on the table again, and then looked at her opponent, who had a cheerful eyesmile expression as she explained the rules of the game known as 'Othello', lifting her index finger midway as she did so.

"Unlike chess, the black player is the player who goes first! She begins by placing a disc black side up, in a position that there must be a vertically, horizontally or diagonally occupied line between a black disc already on the board and the black disc you just placed down, and in between the two black discs must consist of white discs, or the move will be invalid!"

Her opponent inhaled her chest before continuing.

"After placing your disc, you flip over all discs of the opposing colour that are lying in its pathway! Then it is the white player's turn, in which she attempts to flip any discs back to her own colour! The game ends when the board is full, or when there are no more valid turns left to play! The winner is the player with the most discs consisting of their colour!"

Again, she listened to her opponent with slit eyes and a petit, triangular mouth. This 'Othello' contained no element of luck, only raw power of the mind.

...

The girl's expression remained a deep thought process for some time, many lines occupying her forehead. She decided to be the black player this time, though this alteration of colour did not change their difference in skill. For most of the duration, she had kept herself on par with her opponent's level. However, as the board was close to being filled, her opponent executed three flawless moves, completely decimating the dark flanks. By the time the game was finished, the girl could count the number of her own discs with one hand. She had a sneaky suspicion that her opponent was planning this kind of devious strategy from the very beginning.

The door bell rang, disrupting any thoughts they once had.

"Ah! That will be Kagami-san and Tsukasa-san!" Miyuki said, as she rose from her seat, scampered out of her bedroom, and made her way to the main door.

Konata was still seated, her eyes remaining focused on the Othello board. Slit eyes. Petit, triangular mouth.

"_This is the last time I suggest a break from studying in Miyuki-san's house!" _she thought, _"Honestly, I should have known that her form of relaxation was different compared to mine! And those games I played forced me to use more concentration than I would by studying!"_

"Ossu!" Kagami suddenly greeted, as she, her younger sister and Miyuki entered the bedroom, "Sorry we're late. We would have arrived sooner if Tsukasa had woken up any time _before_ the afternoon."

Tsukasa pressed her forefingers together in an apologetic manner. "Eheheh... sorry everyone."

Kagami then tilted her head slightly to the right, intrigued by the small round table, and the board game on top of it.

"Othello?" she asked.

"Mm! Izumi-san said she needed a short break from studying," Miyuki answered, with an eyesmile no less, "so the two of us were just entertaining ourselves with some games to pass the time!"

Kagami placed a hand over her mouth in order to suppress her giggling. _"Hehe... I see... Konata did not decline the offer, in case she was of afraid of upsetting Miyuki!"_

With her arms behind her back, the twin-tailed girl took a few strides in Konata's direction, positioning herself behind the blunette's chair. With a grin, Kagami gently placed her hands on Konata's shoulders, and leaned close enough for their rosy cheeks to touch.

"Were you having fun Kona-chan?" Kagami teased, with a extra-cute eyesmile.

"Go away," Konata muttered, her eyes still looking at the game.

Kagami then lifted her hands away, and circled to the other side of the table.

"Oh, wow!" She said in mock amazement, "It looks like you were victorious as well!"

Konata did not reply.

"Wait a second! Were you the white player, or the black player?"

Konata sagged her shoulders a little.

"The black player."

"Oh my! You mean Miyuki actually defeated you? I'm in shock!"

"Go away."

* * *

**Author: **At last I have managed to update this fanfic. I will try and update more quickly in the future, because it seems like every year passes by faster and faster. Hope everyone enjoyed their new year, and I'll see you next time!

~Rdz


	52. Natural Resistance

**Natural Resistence**

During the later hours of the afternoon, Konata and her little cousin Yutaka were shopping inside the general store, which thankfully for them, was not very crowded. Their primary objective was to obtain the key ingredients for tonight's meal: curry rice. Also on the shopping list was fruit, milk and a few other essential staples. All in all, it would take roughly fifteen minutes to obtain everything they needed.

The Izumi girls walked up and down the isles, collecting and storing the required items in their shopping baskets. They were doing rather well... until they discovered the location of the bags of rice; they were positioned too high up to be casually collected, at least for people who were vertically challenged. Yutaka tried to pick up a bag of rice by reaching on her tip-toes, but despite her efforts, she was nowhere near touching the item, let alone holding it. Konata stepped in and reached on her tip-toes as well. She felt her fingernails touch the packaging, but otherwise failed to accomplish her objective. This annoyed Konata somewhat, for she did not want to feel helpless in front of her cousin, but being small did come with its disadvantages, especially in certain scenarios such as this one.

When things were beginning to look hopeless, Yutaka spotted a member of staff walking down their isle; a tallish man in his early thirties.

"Um, excuse me, can you get this one down for me?" Yutaka politely asked the man, pointing to the item that was above her reach.

The man nodded, and grabbed the bag of rice with less than minimal effort, handing it over to Yutaka once he did so.

"No problem at all, young lady," he replied warmly, with an overly confident smile, "if you need help with anything else, please do not hesitate to find me."

Yutaka nodded in gratitude. "Th-Thanks."

"Do you require anything else on this isle?"

"No, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

Yutaka made a nervous eyesmile at the man, a tiny sweat-drop hanging at the back of her head. "No, I'm okay thank you."

Konata frowned at the tall person who at last left the isle. Once the rice was finally in Yutaka's basket, the two of them continued with their shopping.

* * *

One by one, the woman behind the checkout scanned all of their finished shopping. Fortunately the total was not very high, for many of the items purchased were on special offer. Konata exchanged the money for the goods, and was promptly handed the till receipt as well. With Konata carrying two bag-loads, and Yutaka carrying one, the girls were about to leave the store when-

"Are you two alright carrying all of that food?" the checkout lady called out.

"W-We're fine, thanks!" Yutaka replied, waving with her free hand to assure everything was alright.

"Are you sure?" the lady asked again, "Those bags look awfully heavy..."

"It's okay! We can manage!" Yutaka answered.

Konata frowned again as she left the automatic doors.

* * *

A few minutes have passed by since the two girls left the store. The temperature had dropped a little since they were inside, and the both of them wished they had worn a few extra layers of clothing. After crossing a quiet road, Konata and Yutaka were walking along the pathway... but abruptly ceased movement when they saw two female college students rushing in Yutaka's direction; both of the girls were in their twenties. When they got close enough, one of them knelt down and gently ruffled Yutaka's hair, whilst the other girl simply stood there, idolising the cute object with starry eyes, and clasping her hands together in a prayer.

"Waia~h! Isn't she just adorable!" The college girl cooed to her friend, "She reminds me of you when we were younger!"

"She does?" replied the second girl, "Waia~h! I wish I still looked this cute!"

Konata frowned with intensity. Given the situation, she was a little surprised as well, though not half as surprised as Yutaka. The older Izumi girl swiftly steeled her nerves however, and managed to intervene between her cousin and the college students.

"Okay, that's enough," the blunette sternly interjected, "your free trial is over now. Leave."

Fortunately for Konata (and Yutaka), the two college students were quick to surrender; they composed themselves and bowed simultaneously.

"We're sorry," one of them apologised, "but we cannot help ourselves; we just adore cute girls! Oh, I'm Miki by the way, and this is Sakuya."

"Konata," Konata returned, a little uncertainty lingering inside her, "and this is my cousin Yutaka."

With a bow of her own, Yutaka nervously introduced herself. "G-Good afternoon."

"Again, sorry for the inconvenience," the college girl added, "seriously though, I think you will make a great teen idol, Yutaka-chan!"

Being praised by the older girl caused Yutaka to blush, "Um... th-thanks..."

"Well, see you later!"

"Yeah! Take care!"

Konata and Yutaka watched as the two older girls left them, eventually disappearing from sight; what was once going to be a simple shopping trip turned out to be quite a surreal night. Konata was about to resume movement when she felt her own sleeve being gently tugged.

"Thanks for helping me," Yutaka whispered to her.

Konata puffed out her chest and proudly placed her hands on her hips. "Ha ha! No problem! No problem! That is what family is for, right? To help our sisters, our brothers and our cousins who are in a pinch!"

Yutaka nodded happily, despite the beads of premature tears hanging from the corners of her eyes. Seeing this, Konata inhaled some of the cold night air, before letting out a deep, heartfelt sigh.

"Yutaka-chan... don't you ever feel bothered or patronised when people make a constant fuss over you, just because of your height? I mean... I know those people at the store meant well... and those girls we met had no bad intentions either... but still... it must be aggravating for you at times."

Yutaka shook her head. "No... not really, because thanks to you, I no longer see my lack of height as a disadvantage."

Konata knitted her eyebrows together. "Really?"

The little girl nodded. "Mm! In fact, I heard from Kagami-san the other day that you managed to defeat an entire football team all by yourself! The opposition must have overlooked your height as some kind of weakness, but you proved to everyone that size doesn't matter at all!"

Konata lightly thumped a fist into her chest and made a broad smile. "Ah, but of course! My height, athleticism, otakuism and secret rare chest status are combined to form a killer quad-combo that everybody should be envious of!"

Yutaka giggled for a moment, before her wonder-filled emerald eyes stared into the night sky. After some star gazing, she concluded her conversation by facing Konata with a delightful eyesmile. "It is true that people make a fuss of me a lot of the time... but I guess that's the price of being small and cute, right?"

"I guess so," replied Konata, with a lack of anything more to say.

As they both continued their journey home, Konata began to see her little cousin in a new light. When Yutaka first arrived inside the Izumi household, Konata regarded her as someone who had the mentality and physicality of a balloon soufflé. However, Yutaka has now shown a lot of confidence and charisma in herself, and was always one to show a bright, beaming smile, no matter how challenging the situation may be. Konata thought to herself; if everyone had Yutaka's wonderful mind and spirit, then the world would truly become a happier place.

* * *

With her free hand, Yutaka reached out and pressed the doorbell, emitting a simple but pleasant melody...

...a melody which was abruptly nullified when Sojiro swung the door open, wrapped his arms around his precious girls, and began to cry with the effectiveness of a thousand drama princesses.

"Oh Kona-chan! Yutaka-chan!" he wailed, waterfall tears inclusive, "Thank goodness you're both okay! I just checked the news and weather, and learned the temperature had dropped another three Fahrenheit! I knew I should have told you both to put on your coats and scarves! I am such an unworthy parent! Please forgive me!"

As she was busy being involved in the triple embrace, courtesy of her melodramatic father, Konata stumbled upon a realisation: if Yutaka is used to this sort of treatment at home, then there was no doubt she would be nearly immune from being bothered by anyone else.


	53. Star Chips – Misao and Ayano

**Author: **Once again, I apologise for the late update. To make amends, I have compiled together five mini stories into one chapter. Hope you enjoy reading them.

~Rdz

* * *

**Star Chips – Misao and Ayano**

**Story 1; One Direction**

"Rock!"

"Paper."

"Aw! You beat me again Hiiragi!"

Misao and her two classmates, Kagami and Ayano, were seated around one of the many rectangular tables the cafeteria had to offer; as always, the ambience was filled with the endless gossiping of students. Misao was sitting opposite Kagami, and Ayano was sitting next to her childhood friend. After losing for the umpteenth time, Misao lowered her shoulders and sighed, a small cloud escaping from her mouth. Naturally, it was the short-haired girl who issued the challenge in the first place, and the stipulations were as follows: If Misao defeated Kagami at a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Kagami would have to buy her opponent a drink from one of the nearby vending machines. If Kagami was the victor, then Misao would have to do the honours instead. With a 'whatever' shrug, Kagami accepted Misao's challenge.

When she lost for the first time, Misao quickly opted for a best of three match. When she lost for a second time, Misao changed the rules to a best of five match. After suffering consecutive defeats, Misao no longer cared about the stipulation; she continued playing, just to find out if she could win at least _one _game against the crafty Kagami.

"Another round!" Misao suddenly announced, an inner surge of fire filling her with rejuvenation.

"Fine," Kagami replied in a less-than-caring manner, wondering when her friend was ever going to wave the white flag.

The two girls showed each other their hands.

"Paper!"

"Scissors."

Misao threw her arms up in frustration.

"Arrgh! Okay, I'm serious this time! One more game!"

The two girls showed their hands again.

"Scissors!"

"Rock."

"No way!" Misao said in alarm, "That's like the hundredth time you've beaten me! You must be some kind of psychic!"

Having witnessing all of Misao's battles, Ayano could not help altering her face into a nervous eyesmile. A small sweat-drop appeared at the back of her head.

"_No Misao, it has nothing to do with her being psychic at all!" _Ayano thought to herself, _"It is because your mind is much too easy to read! You always start at rock, then you move to paper, then you move to scissors, and then you loop back to rock again! You have always played with this strategy since childhood!"_

* * *

**Story 2; Sweet and Sour**

"Good afternoon. Do you mind if I join you?"

Misao ceased eating her bento and glanced upwards. It did not take long to recognise the epitome of elegance and intelligence standing in front of her. The girl was Miyuki Takara, the class representative who belonged in the same classroom as the blue-haired squirt, as well as Kagami's younger sister.

"T...Takara-san!" Misao said in surprise, before anyone else had a chance to reply, "Yeah! Of course you can join us!"

Miyuki bowed in gratitude before joining Misao, Kagami and Ayano at the cafeteria table. As they continued sampling their food, Kagami explained that her sister was absent due to a cold, and Konata was at another table with her otaku friends, Patricia and Hiyori. Miyuki, of course, was more than welcome in joining Kagami and her classmates, and Misao, overjoyed at having a newest addition to the party, quickly formed a conversation with the bespectacled moé. The two girls, seated opposite each other, were currently chatting about school examinations.

"What?_!_ You managed to score a ninety-five on a maths exam?" Misao asked in astonishment, "You're incredible! The highest I could ever achieve was a fifty-six!"

Miyuki felt embarrassed by the praise the girl was giving her.

"Oh no, it has nothing to do with being incredible," she explained, "I was just really fortunate, because on that day, most of the questions I received on the test happened to match the ones I was revising on beforehand. Also, regarding your exam results, maybe that could be due to a lack of confidence. More often than not, exam results reflect on confidence, so maybe you just need to believe in yourself a little more, Kusakabe-san."

Misao gently pushed a forefinger to her lips, soaking in all of Miyuki's advice like a sponge would to water. "Hmm... I see... more confidence..."

The straightforward one then altered her face into a goofy grin.

"...I know it also helps to take notes in class, but instead of writing stuff down, I find myself falling asleep instead! I get tired really easily!"

"Well, I would recommend not to sleep later hours at home, for that may be the cause of your tiredness in class," Miyuki answered, "The less hours you sleep during the night, the more likely fatigue will catch up with you during the next day."

Misao closed her eyes and placed a thumb and forefinger between her chin, nodding in agreement.

"Perhaps... I should also study a bit more at home," the short-haired girl reasoned with herself. She then exhaled a mild sigh, "but there are so many distractions at home, like computer games and watching the telly! Once you do something you really enjoy, you don't want to do anything else for the rest of the day!"

Miyuki could not help herself in giggling to that remark; she could easily picture Izumi-san saying something along those lines. "There are indeed a lot of distractions at home. I remember enjoying numerous games of Solitaire, blissfully unaware that I had spent a whole three hours playing!"

The fountain of knowledge briefly glanced at the ceiling, wondering what sort of advice she could suggest to Misao.

"I know most people decide to alternate between studying and leisure, but others prefer to get all their studying done before they do anything else. The latter is an understandable suggestion, because once everything is finished, you get to have the rest of the day to yourself, without the need to worry about school work."

"Right, right," Misao agreed, nodding twice, "so what you're saying is... I should try and do everything in one go?"

"So long as you remember to pace yourself, I see no harm in studying this way," Miyuki concluded with a smile.

"I'll keep that in mind! That's really helpful advice!" Misao thanked.

A lovely pink background appeared behind Misao, a background that was complete with rising bubbles and multicoloured stars. The girl looked absolutely delighted with herself, as though the heavens themselves were warmly embracing her.

"_Takara-san is so cool!" _she thought with an eyesmile, _"She is so kind and thoughtful, and her advice is really useful as well! I wish she was in the same class as mine!"_

Misao relaxed a little, the background disappearing and reverting back to the cafeteria once again. After eating her bento some more, Misao's head suddenly turned sharply to the right. For a brief moment, she stared angrily into Kagami's eyes before returning to her lunch.

"_Yes... yes, I know," _Kagami thought with annoyance, _"Miyuki is the Lovely Princess of Roses, whereas I am the Wicked Queen of Ice."_

* * *

**Story 3; Unconscious Reaction**

Wave after wave of seemingly endless pleading, Kagami finally surrendered to Misao. After all, it had been a while since Kagami invited her classmates to study inside the Hiiragi household. When they arrived, the three girls visited Tsukasa in her bedroom, to see how well she was coping with her illness. After some conversation and comfort, they left the youngest Hiiragi alone to her rest; she needed plenty of it for a successful recovery.

Shortly afterwards, the three girls were seated around the kotatsu inside Kagami's bedroom. A toasty warmth filled the air, but not too warm as to induce fatigue. Some studying later, Misao's attention span began to diminish; focusing for lengthy periods of time always proved to be her weakness.

"Hiirag~i, I'm bor~ed, I wanna do something el~se," Misao whined. She was currently standing behind the seated Kagami, frolicking around with her lavender twin-tails.

"Stop playing with my hair," Kagami muttered, "and what happened with taking Miyuki's advice; do everything now and have nothing to worry about later?"

"Come on Hiiragi! I can try Takara-san's method another day! Let's play already!" Misao pleaded.

Kagami was becoming increasingly annoyed with the immature girl and her child-like antics. It was times like this that she considered cutting her hair, though Misao would probably find additional ways to pester her.

"Quit it Konata," Kagami warned.

Misao was thinking about Kagami's hair; her eyes were set on the ceiling and her mind started to wonder. She then thought about growing her hair long herself; she could tie it up in a ponytail, or have twin-tails, like Kagami. Then again, having to sort out such lengthy hair every morning would become quite a chore. In the end, she decided to stick with her short hairstyle; it was convenient, and was certainly a lot easier to manage.

A few seconds later, Misao unconsciously let go of Kagami's hair, realisation hitting her like a multitude of icy needles. Ayano also glanced up from her studying, a mild surprise evident over her face.

"Konata...?" Ayano repeated quietly.

There was a silent pause which lasted exactly four seconds.

"Ayano!" Misao cried out. She zipped over to her childhood friend, placing both hands on top of her shoulders. "We've only been together for a short time, and she wants the squirt here instead of us!"

"It was an accident!" Kagami denied, her cheeks an immediate shade of red, "I didn't mean to mention her name! My tongue slipped! Hey, stop looking at Minegishi like that!"

* * *

**Story 4; Forced Politeness**

After studying for over an hour, the girls all decided now would be a good time to have a break. The computer console was switched on, and everyone began to relax and unwind. Punches, fireballs and other violent sounds were heard from the living room television; loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough not to bother Tsukasa from her rest. With the two of them kneeling down, Ayano watched Misao frantically try to defeat the computer opponent. Misao failed hopelessly.

"Somehow, it feels less satisfying playing against the CPU," Misao casually wondered out loud, fiddling around with the game pad as she spoke. Ayano simply replied with a smile.

"Okay! They're ready!"

The two girls turned around to face Kagami, who stood there carrying a plate filled with cookies. Each one was shaped like a farmyard animal.

"Thanks!" Misao and Ayano said together.

They reached out and picked one cookie each. Misao devoured hers within seconds, whereas Ayano took small, delicate bites. Kagami remained awkward for a moment, before finally breaking the ice.

"So... what do you think?" she asked, her face turning bashfully to one side.

"Meh, alright. Nothing special," Misao answered nonchalantly.

Kagami frowned at her friend and her rather blunt remark. "Hey, I didn't have to make _anything_, you know."

She then turned to face Ayano. As their eyes met, Ayano realised the spotlight was on her; she had to think of a reply, and fast. Her cookies were not horrible by any means; the results clearly showed that Kagami put a lot of effort into making them. However, they lacked a little flavour and substance. Whether it was too much of one ingredient, or not enough of another, Misao's remark was more or less accurate; they only tasted 'alright'.

In the end, Ayano nervously replied with two awkward-to-say words.

"P-Pretty nice."

Kagami hung her head low, her twin-tails flopping downwards as a result.

"_Kusakabe was blunt and to the point," _she thought with dejection, _"but for some reason I find Minegishi's reply to be really depressing."_

Ayano tried desperately to cheer up her friend.

"I... I really liked the pig design!" she tried.

Kagami did not move a muscle.

"It was supposed to be a sheep..." she mumbled.

Misao covered her mouth to suppress laughing out loud, whereas Ayano recoiled in alarm, her eyes becoming circular and white.

"_Eh?_!_ It looked like a pig to me!"_

* * *

**Story 5; Misao is Misao**

The cycle of studying and entertainment continued, until it was finally time for Misao and Ayano to leave. Much to her credit, Misao did manage to get a lot of studying done. She was irritable to be with at times, but when she got serious, she could be just as hard working as either of her classmates.

"Thanks for inviting us!" Ayano said, smiling with gratitude.

Kagami returned Ayano's appreciation with a smile of her own. "No problem, no problem! It certainly makes a nice change to have you two around!"

A forefinger was suddenly pointed inches away from Kagami's nose, causing her smile to change into a sour frown.

"And let's not make this a 'once in a while' thing," Misao ordered, the culprit of the said forefinger, "next week, we're all studying at my place. Got it?"

Kagami shrugged in a nonchalant manner. "So long as you actually remember to study, not just to play games, or with my hair."

Misao put away the offending finger and sighed. "Yes, yes, I understand, Hiiragi-sensei."

As they exited the main door, Misao and Ayano waved goodbye to their friend; it did not take long before the two girls disappeared from sight. Kagami took in a breath of air before exhaling happily; it was nice to have company, but also relaxing to have the place back to herself.

"_Kusakabe certainly worked hard today, at least, harder than usual," _Kagami mused, slowly closing the door, _"who knows, maybe she will surprise us all and get a decent result on her next exam."_

…

…

Kagami opened the door to her bedroom. Two steps inside, she stared at the exercise books scattered on top of her bed, all of it belonging to one very forgetful Kusakabe.

"_I take everything back," _Kagami thought with slumped shoulders, _"she really is hopeless."_


	54. Survey

**Survey**

"Excuse me madam, may I trouble you to take part in my survey?"

Mildly surprised, Miyuki spun round to face the source of the unknown voice, her long strawberry hair becoming lively from the afternoon breeze. The voice belonged to a female marketing researcher in her late thirties; she was smartly dressed in a navy suit, with a matching tie and a white shirt. Her hairstyle was rather formal looking as well; it was black and tied into a singular ponytail. In spite of the abruptness of the situation, Miyuki quickly composed herself and replied to the businesswoman in a respectable and warm manner.

"Mm, certainly, what kind of product are you surveying?"

The lady readied her pen and clipboard before continuing. She explained to Miyuki that she was conducting a research on health bars, which according to her knowledge, was one of the more popular and nutritious snacks to eat on the go. This piqued Miyuki's interest, because she would often choose a healthier product in place of a sugary item, worried the latter might produce cavities due to her sensitive teeth.

"First of all, how old are you?" the lady asked.

"Seventeen," Miyuki replied.

The businesswoman nodded and ticked off one of the boxes provided. "Okay, how often do you consume health bars, like for instance, do you eat one a day, twice or a few times a week, every so often, or never at all?"

"How often?" Miyuki asked herself, "Well, I do try to eat one bar every day, but there are some occasions where I tend to forget, since I am usually doing something else to occupy the time with, so I would say approximately five bars a week."

"Hmm… okay…" the woman said, ticking off another box in the process, "would you ever consider eating a health bar instead of a meal as an alternative?"

Miyuki popped a finger between her pursed lips, her wide eyes looking up as she contemplated her answer. "I think I would be leaning towards the answer no. Although health bars are a requisite of keeping ones stamina integral, I do not feel they are a substitute for a proper meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner all contain an essential requirement of nutrient, ingredients and fats that a single health bar simply does not provide."

"A very informative answer," mused the survey asker. She followed through with her next question. "Do you have any food allergies, such as soya, nuts, dairy produce or any type of fruit?"

"Let's see…" Miyuki pondered for a short while, "…I have a particular affliction with nut-related items, since sampling these products can sometimes cause pressure and pain around my lower teeth, but other than that, I do not have any food allergies that I am aware of."

"Right, okay," the lady pressed on, "next, does the appearance of the packaging affect your choice in buying health bars?"

"No, not really," Miyuki replied, moving her forefinger to her right cheek, "I only find the packaging essential when I check to see what ingredients are listed on there, before deciding on purchasing the product itself."

The woman ticked off another box, and had nearly reached the end of her survey.

"Okay, and my last question is: what is your preferred flavour?"

Again, Miyuki's forefinger moved along her face, this time landing on the left side of her chin. Although the question did appear simple, there were in fact lots of flavours that she remembered being rather appetising.

"Well, I do happen to fancy a lot of fruity flavoured ones, particularly strawberry, raspberry… blueberry… um… let's see… red apple, cherry, papaya… oh, and I also quite enjoy pomegranate… although that flavour always seems to be sold out, no matter which shop or supermarket I attend to," she stated, making an eyesmile when she finished talking.

The businesswoman nervously looked the list of possibilities shown on the end of her survey; most of Miyuki's answers were not even present, so she just circled over 'strawberry', 'cherry' and 'other'.

"Thank you for your time!" she told Miyuki, bowing in gratitude.

"Oh no, please, the pleasure is all mine!" Miyuki replied, returning the bow with one of her own.

Whilst the businesswoman attempted to interact with more of the city folk, Miyuki walked over to her group of friends, who were all waiting patiently nearby the clothes store. With adrenaline overflowing her veins, Konata zipped right in front of the bespectacled girl, quickly grabbed her hands, and fused them together with her own.

"Superb! That was really superb Miyuki-san!" the petit one praised, sparkling stars shown within her eyes. "I've never seen anyone take part in a survey before, much less answer all of the questions with such passion and honesty!"

"E-Eh?!" stammered a blushing Miyuki. She was about to make a reply, but Tsukasa was already continuing with the conversation.

"I agree; I wish I had half of Yuki-chan's confidence," the younger sister said, her expression one of admiration, "every time I see those kind of people, I just try to avoid eye contact and pretend they're not looking at me."

Kagami folded her arms and nodded once in agreement. "Mm, and when they do approach you, you have to politely state that you're busy before walking away. However, you cannot help but feel bad about yourself every time you say something like that – I mean, they're only doing their job after all."

"But furthermore…" Konata began saying.

The three girls turned their attention towards their smaller friend.

"…don't you guys agree that Miyuki-san came off sounding much more professional than the businesswoman?"

The sisters flinched from Konata's words, whereas Miyuki recoiled in sheer surprise.

"Woah, that's a blunt yet accurate statement you made just there!" Kagami stated,_ "I hope that lady didn't hear any of that…"_

Konata spun round to face Miyuki again, seizing her hands like she did before.

"Miyuki-san, I think _you_ should become a survey asker!"

A slightly confused Miyuki looked at her friend's gushing appearance. "R-Really?"

"Mm, mm!" Konata nodded twice, "If you become a survey asker, then every guy in the city would want to answer your questions!"

"Okay, you can leave her alone now," Kagami sighed, abruptly separating the two girls, whilst her younger sister made an awkward eyesmile, "I had a feeling this conversation was inevitably heading into something dangerous."


End file.
